By Jason Lewis, Local Democracy Reporter

A major road project to replace the ageing Northam Rail Bridge, which is a “severe congestion pinch point”, has taken a step forward.

 

Council leaders have approved procuring Network Rail to design and build the new A3024 bridge.

Cabinet members accepted an initial grant contribution of £1.45million from the Department for Transport (DfT) to support the creation of an outline business case at a meeting on Tuesday, September 17.

The bridge replacement scheme is forecast to cost £71million, with all of the money possibly coming from central government after the northern leg of HS2 was scrapped.

Cllr Eamonn Keogh, cabinet member for environment and transport, said: “As someone who regularly walks, cycles, buses and drives along the Northam Road into and out of our city centre, the importance of the Northam Road Rail Bridge cannot be understated.

“This key asset is critical to supporting thousands of journeys each day but it is now coming to the end of its economic life and requires replacing.”

The current project timeline sees the outline business case submitted to government by the end of next year, with a two-year construction phase starting in summer 2027, subject to the full business case and funding approval from DfT.

The scheme includes:

• Replacing and widening the existing carriageway structure with two new two-lane bridges, with potential for bus priority lanes
• A new pedestrian-cycle bridge that realigns the St Mary’s Stadium footbridge
• Changes to the junctions at Brinton’s Road and Britannia Road would be delivered, with new traffic signals, bus priority and crossings
• Improved pedestrian and cycle routes around the bridge
• Public realm, landscaping and biodiversity works in Old Northam Road and other areas

Replacing the bridge will support the redevelopment of the former gas works, which received planning permission earlier this year, Cllr Keogh said.

He said it will also improve access into and out of the Ports of Southampton and St Mary’s Stadium.

Cllr Keogh said: “This new bridge will deal with one of the most severe congestion pinch points in our city.”

He added: “This project is evidence of our commitment to grow the city and help it thrive and adapt to the increasing challenges we face in future, whether economic, social or environmental.

“We are fortunate that in delivering this project we could call upon the considerable expertise and capacity of Network Rail to design and deliver this crucial infrastructure project.”

The development is listed in the national portfolio of major road network projects, which council officers say are likely to be entirely funded by the Department for Transport (DfT) although this has not been confirmed.

In the past, the government would have covered 85 per cent of the delivery costs, with the local authority left to source the rest.