Flyover water leak work to be lifted by weekend

Redbridge Flyover has been fully closed for the leak repair work eastbound since Monday at 22:00 BST

A flyover into a city centre that is shut while a water leak is found is expected to reopen by Friday night, Southern Water has said.

The eastbound carriageway of the A35 Redbridge flyover into Southampton from Totton closed on Monday at 22:00 BST to allow the water firm to find and fix the leak. The closure of one of the main routes into the city has been causing lengthy delays.

Southern Water said work to find the "non visible" leak deep underground was complex but "we have made progress in narrowing down the area where this leak could be."

It said it aimed to have the road back in use and workers clear of the flyover by late Friday evening.

Southern Water said: "We're sorry for the continued disruption that our work to find a leak at the Redbridge flyover is causing.

"Ahead of the Bank Holiday weekend we have taken the decision to reopen the Eastbound carriageway of the Redbridge flyover before Saturday morning."

The water firm added: "We're confident that when we return at a later date this work will take less time thanks to the new data and insights our detection work has provided."

Southern Water said it hadn't found the leak but had been able to gather information so it would take less time to fix when it returns

It said it expected to issue a further update on the carriageway closure and leak repair on Wednesday.

A diversion for drivers travelling into Southampton is in place from the A35 to the Redbridge roundabout to the A33 Redbridge Road.

The roadworks had been due to get underway 24 hours earlier but were cancelled without warning due to an "operational issue".