| Two replacements proposed for Southampton's Northam Rail Bridge Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 06:29, 14th November 2025 |     |
From the BBC:
Southampton City Council wants to replace the single-lane Northam Rail Bridge
A city council has proposed building two new replacements for a 117-year-old road bridge in Southampton.
The authority wants to remove the single-lane Northam Rail Bridge, which currently carries the A3024 and is nearing the end of its operational life. It said the £100m project would resolve ongoing maintenance challenges and improve connections in the city.
Christie Lambert, deputy council leader and member responsible for transport, called on the public to share their views.
The plan would see three years of construction, with hopes for completion by winter 2030.
The bridge is a key route in and out of the east side of the city centre, but creates a bottleneck at peak times, with two lanes of traffic in each direction merging to go over the railway line.
The council has proposed a new bridge be built to the north of the current one, while the existing road remains in use. Traffic would then switch to the new bridge to allow the ageing structure to be removed and replaced. Once both new bridges are installed, the northern one could carry two lanes of eastbound traffic, while the southern one could include two lanes of westbound traffic and a dedicated bus lane. The plans include segregated paths for pedestrians and cyclists, alongside improvements to the Brinton's Road and Britannia Road junctions.
Ms Lambert said: "This project will not only address long-standing maintenance issues but also create new opportunities for growth and development. We are committed to working closely with the community to make this vision a reality and urge everyone to get involved, share their views, and help us secure government support."
The plan would see three years of construction, with hopes for completion by winter 2030
The plan aims to ensure vehicles can continue to travel on the route throughout construction.
The local authority has launched an online survey for views to be shared and to strengthen the case for funding. A series of engagement events have been organised this month to see details about the project, ask questions and provide feedback.
The council is looking to submit its outline business case for funding to the Department for Transport (DfT) in spring 2026, with a planning application to and any refinements to the business case to follow. A decision from DfT ministers would be expected in 2027.
| Re: Two replacements proposed for Southampton's Northam Rail Bridge Posted by Timmer at 07:23, 14th November 2025 | |
That’s going to require a major line closure when it comes to new bridge being installed possibly over a Christmas/New Year holiday period.
| Re: Two replacements proposed for Southampton's Northam Rail Bridge Posted by John D at 07:43, 14th November 2025 | |
Has a bit of an interesting history, there were originally a series of level crossings in the area.
In the late 1890s the LSWR in conjunction with Southampton Council worked on number of improvement schemes that would allow full quadrupling from Southampton to north of Eastleigh.
Central bridge was opened halfway between 2 level crossings (and tram line extended over it to old Itchin floating bridge) and the crossings shut. To the north Wide lane (near what is now Southampton Airport Parkway station) also gained a new 4 track overbridge replacing the level crossing.
Swaything station got new buildings that were set back on assumption both existing platforms would become islands with new platform faces at the back.
The third new rail bridge (Northam) was opened around 1908 (can't quickly find exactly when). This is the one they want to replace.
The 4th bridge at Mount Pleasant didn't happen as First World War stopped the widening work (and LSWR had prioritised six tracking from Clapham Cutting to New Malden, of which quite a lot got of trackbed and bigger bridges got built until work ground to a halt around 1916 due to the war). I think Mount Pleasant is the only level crossing remaining on London and Southampton Railway.
The curve under the Northam bridge used to be restricted to 15mph, it was eased to 25mph about 40 years ago after closure of the electrified southern curve. It remains to be seen if new bridges allow a further line speed increase (even if it just a couple of hundred metres transition at 35-40mph).
I assume DfT request for funding is that it carries an A road (A3024) and will allow it to almost become dual carriageway throughout. There is a short section about quarter of of a mile east of Northam rail bridge which is 4 rather narrow lanes single carriageway.
| Re: Two replacements proposed for Southampton's Northam Rail Bridge Posted by Noggin at 08:50, 14th November 2025 | |
But will it be built with enough clearance for proper electrification?
