Southampton bus lane to be removed over five nights

The bus lane on Bitterne Road West had increased journey times for cars, Southampton City Council said

Five nights of work to remove a temporary bus lane on a main route into Southampton is set to begin.

The work on the A3024 Bitterne Road West will start each evening at 20:00 BST and end at 06:00 the following day until Saturday morning.

Sections of the road will be closed at those times between Maybray King Way and Northam Bridge as a result.

The Conservatives pledged to remove the lane after gaining control of the city council from Labour in May.

It was installed last year as part of the authority's Green Transport Recovery and funded by the Department for Transport.

The decision to remove the lane was made after more than 400 objections from residents, the council said.

It added that the lane had increased car journey times by up to five minutes during peak afternoon times.

The Conservatives also pledged to "immediately" review the city's £18.5m transport plan after winning a majority in Southampton for the first time in nine years.