The first phase of the Itchen Bridge Maintenance Project, replacement of the drainage system along the northern footway, will shortly be completed.

These works will have seen the replacement of around 800m of kerb stones and installation of drainage kerbs, removal and re-laying of over 2,000 square metres of footway and the application of a waterproof coating to provide a more efficient and long-lasting drainage system overall.

Unfortunately, these works are completing later than originally planned due to the discovery of an uncharted, live fibre optic cable. This meant that we had to redesign an element of the footway and source different materials at short notice to work around this cable.

Our revised programme will see works continue on the drainage system, where the bridge ends and the land on either side begins, until Thursday 18 December as a revised phase two. While these works are ongoing the road will be fully open, but the northern footway will remain closed.

After this second phase is complete, the third phase will be to start the drainage works on the southern footway, however because of the delay caused by the uncharted cable and the need for consistent temperatures of over 5 degrees during these works, we are now looking to pause all works during January and February. During this pause, the road and both footways will be fully open, although the 20-mph limit will remain as there will be no road markings, and no works will take place until March.

In March, we aim to start with phase three, the southern footway works, which will have a similar traffic management programme to the northern footway works. As this phase is weather dependent, it is subject to change, and we will continue to provide updates over the coming months. The change to the current programme does not alter our plan for delivering new safety fencing in 2026.

Councillor Christie Lambert, Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “I would like to thank local people and users of the Itchen Bridge for their patience and understanding while we re-jig the maintenance programme to address the issues that have arisen.

“Our teams are working hard to complete this phase of the project and we aim to minimise any potential disruption resulting from the changes to the programme as the scheme progresses.”