Southampton Redbridge Causeway: Next phase of lane closures announced

Lane closures on a main route into Southampton are set to continue into the summer.

Commuters have faced delays on the A35 Redbridge Causeway since January due to work to strengthen the aging concrete bridges.

Hampshire County Council has released details of the next phase of the work, which will involve lane closures from April until July.

The council said it was a "substantial and complex scheme".

A lane closure in place since January has seen instances of gridlocked traffic through nearby Totton and 2.5-mile tailbacks as far as Ashurst in the New Forest.

The work was held up by new parapet panels, which were delivered before Christmas, having to be removed and returned to the manufacturer for safety reasons.

The council said work to rectify this was continuing off site and the remaining batches of panels were due to be delivered to site shortly and re-installed by early April.

It said the next phase of work would involve the left-hand lane of the eastbound A35 carriageway.

It is due to be closed from the Totton on-slip until the start of the off-slip to Redbridge Roundabout from 17 April until mid-June.

Another east-bound lane will be closed between mid-June until late July.

There will also be full closures of the eastbound carriageway on up to three weekends between mid-June and late July.

The council said waterproofing work was dependant on weather conditions so timings may be moved at short notice.

The road serves as a link between the New Forest waterside area and Southampton and connects with the M271.

The work is part of a upgrade the bridges which are used by roughly 60,000 vehicles a day. It is aimed at ensuring the bridges would last another 30 years.

The project is due to be completed by November.

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