Roadworks to cause major motoring misery for drivers (From Daily Echo)

Drivers warned of hold ups as roadworks restart at city roundabout

6:00am Monday 25th February 2013 in News By Melanie Adams, Health Reporter

MOTORISTS were today bracing themselves for yet more misery as roadworks return to one of the main gateways into Southampton.

The final phase of major repairs to the Redbridge Roundabout at the bottom of the M271 motorway is set to get under way this morning.

This last leg of work will see the road resurfaced, causing disruption to traffic until the end of April, when the cones will disappear for good and councillors promise “no significant further maintenance” for years.

Work started on the crumbling roundabout last October with council bosses apologising in advance for the inconvenience caused to commuters and warning the work will have a “high impact on traffic”.

The roundabout carries 60,000 vehicles a day, or around 20 million a year, and is seen as vital to the city economy.

The first phase involved mainly drainage work, which stopped over the Christmas period.

A council statement said: “Once completed the roundabout surface should not require significant further maintenance for many years. The new surface will improve safety for the thousands of motorists who use it daily. The new smoother road surface should offer a marked reduction in the noise levels generated by heavy vehicles compared with the current road surface.”

The roundabout was last closed a year ago for urgent repairs, when work was needed to patch up potholes and the damaged surface of the road to prevent the surface from becoming a danger to motorists – only six years after major resurfacing took place.

The AA’s head of road transport policy, Paul Watters, said: “Of course this will be a nuisance but let’s hope they get it right this time and more work is not needed for some time to come.”