REPLACING a worn out concrete footbridge over a railway line at Eastleigh is set to cost a cool £1m or more, civic chiefs have been told.

Built in the 1930s, the footbridge at the end of Archers Road over the Romsey-Eastleigh railway line now provides an important link to the massive Boyatt Wood estate north of the town centre.

But because the bridge features only steep steps, locals have been campaigning for years to get a replacement with ramps to enable use by wheelchairs and pushchairs.

In a report to Hampshire County Council's Eastleigh Highway Management Advisory Panel, councillors were told that the bridge was nearing the end of its useful life and although £25,000 was spent on extensive concrete repairs in 1998, further repairs were not now economically viable.

The report added: "The initial estimate for a new footbridge, with ramps, is £1m - not including any Railtrack land charges.

"A feasibility study for a replacement is under way, but funding of the works is a major problem that has not yet been resolved."

Councillor Pan Holden-Brown told panel colleagues: "This has been an ongoing saga. There has been need for a replacement or substantial alterations to that bridge for a very long time."

She pointed out that disabled residents of the John Darling Mall and other disabled people living in flats on Boyatt Wood currently had to take the "long route" into Eastleigh town centre and she called for the county council and Eastleigh borough to put together a funding package.

"I think it is important that we get something moving on that," she added.

Eastleigh Council's transport manager Rhod MacLeod said money had been earmarked in the borough council's capital programme for 2006/2007 to replace the bridge, but it depended on the authority's plans to develop land in Eastleigh going ahead.

Panel chairman Councillor Colin Davidovitz commented: "That is encouraging because £1m is a lot to find."