Eight-week closure for major city bridge

It is the most significant work since the bridge's construction, the council said

A major city bridge will close for eight weeks for maintenance work.

Southampton City Council said the closure of the Itchen Bridge from Monday 15 July to Friday 6 September would allow for drainage improvements, resurfacing, and the installation of "additional safety features".

The bridge will remain open to pedestrians and cyclists, but motor vehicles will need to use alternative routes in and out of the city.

Councillor Eamonn Keogh, cabinet member for transport, said the work would be completed "as quickly and safely as possible" and apologised for the "inconvenience".

The work is the most significant programme of maintenance works to the bridge since it opened, the council said.

The authority also said roadworks on the Ring Road will have been completed and the temporary one-way system removed before the bridge works start.

Mr Keogh said the maintenance work was essential for the bridge's long-term "health", and that there was "no other way" to undertake it.

"To mitigate what we can, we have chosen to undertake the majority of the works over the summer holiday when the bridge is not as busy as other times, and the weather is more likely to be favourable," he said.

"We will also maintain pedestrian and cycle crossings, and we will be deploying multiple work teams to complete the works as quickly and safely as possible."