CALLS to suspend tolls on the Itchen Bridge during roadworks on Northam Bridge have been rejected by Southampton City Council.

More than 1,600 people signed a petition demanding the move to help ease congestion during vital repair work on the crossing between Northam and Bitterne Manor.

Council chiefs say removing the tolls would not relieve the pressure on the Northam crossing at peak times by allowing more people to cross the Itchen Bridge.

Instead they claim the move would be to the disadvantage of residents as it would ‘encourage’ more drivers from outside the city to use the toll bridge.

The mounting pressure on the council comes after drivers in the city endured a week of traffic misery as 20 weeks of work on Northam Bridge started.

Delays of up to an hour have been reported by frustrated motorists who have been stuck in traffic on the eastern side of the city, with claims some have taken an hour to move just three miles.

As a result, a petition was launched calling for Southampton City Council to suspend the tolls for the duration of the work on Northam Bridge.

The petition says that there is a lack of alternate routes from the eastern side of the city.

The anonymous person behind the petition said: “There is Woodmill (a tiny mill bridge which is only able to have three cars in either direction on it at any one time), Cobden bridge which is already pretty slow moving or the Itchen Toll bridge which is pretty quiet due to people wanting to avoid the toll.”

“They could suspend the toll for the time that the work is being done, and use the period as a test case for removing the toll completely. The bridge has now been paid for many times over.”

Southampton City Council says the £1.2m work to Northam Bridge, which was funded through Government cash, are vital to repair and maintain one of the main routes into the city centre.

However, council chiefs said even if it wanted to remove the tolls, the necessary legal process would take longer than the length of the works.

The traffic delays which happened during the week Monday are going to be discussed at a scrutiny meeting at Southampton City Council on Thursday.

To sign the petition, log on to dailyecho.co.uk/travel

The council’s Itchen Bridge statement in full

“The Itchen Bridge is very busy during the peak hours already. The tolls which are implemented under The Hampshire Act are designed to prevent congestion in the city, particularly in those residential areas adjacent to the bridge.

A lower toll charge for local residents is already available via a smartcard. Removing the tolls would not allow more vehicles to flow over the bridge at peak times, but would encourage more drivers from outside the city to use the bridge to the disadvantage of city residents and causing further delays on this approach.

In addition we are bound by the Itchen Bridge tolls order (The Hampshire Act) which prevents us from doing this and time taken to go through statutory processes would take longer than the period of the works. So in essence, we are bound by the Act, it would take too long to do, and it would add to congestion on this approach. Overall, in normal traffic conditions the network has coped well during the first week of the works.”

Cruise ships in port

MOTORISTS have been urged to plan their journeys into Southampton because of cruise ship traffic this weekend.

Thousands of passengers will arrive in Southampton as QM2, Queen Elizabeth and Saga Sapphire will all leave the city.

A council statement said: “Presently there are no restrictions on the main route into the eastern docks.

"Therefore we do not anticipate that works to Northam Bridge will cause an issue with regard to arrival of the three cruise ships scheduled for Saturday.

“However, we do expect [Saturday] to be busy on our roads. Our advice to motorists is to take a sensible approach when planning their journey and modes of transport.”