RECONSTRUCTION to a railway bridge in a Hampshire village is due to start this month despite residents’ fears it will increase traffic.

Network Rail wants to increase the height of Down Farm Lane bridge, in Headbourne Worthy near Winchester, and revamp it to allow increasing numbers of freight trains to use it.

In a recent meeting with residents a presentation from the company said: “The bridge has shown steady deterioration over the years and it has been necessary for Network Rail to undertake monthly examinations to mitigate risk.

“A decision has been made to reconstruct the superstructure as strengthening and repair is considered to be uneconomical and impractical.”

Documents shown at the consultation said the works will start on March 30 and are expected to take 11 weeks while the track and signalling is removed, the bridge demolished, reconstructed and reinstated.

It also said the height will be increased by 28.2cm, which residents and councillors recently campaigned against saying it will allow heavy vehicles through to nearby 2,000-home Barton Farm development.

Workers are due to be on site from this week for preparation work.

Closure The road will be closed weekdays from March 30 to April 17, excluding bank holidays, the weekend of April 18-20, and fully from May 1-31, between points 200m north-west of its junction with Wellhouse Lane and 800m north-west of that junction.

Jane Rutter, Headbourne Worthy parish and Winchester city councillor, said she was pleased to see “so many people” at the consultation who mostly shared hers and the parish council’s view that the bridge height should not be raised.

“That was the message that Network Rail took away loud and clear and they did promise that they would do all that they could to keep the height and we will wait to see what proposals they come forward with,” she said.

Nobody from Network Rail had responded to the Daily Echo’s request for a comment, at the time of going to press.