THE PRICE of football coming home to the heart of Southamp-ton is paid from next week when a huge roadworks scheme gets underway.

Drivers face 31 weeks of delays along one of the major routes into the city centre in preparation for Saints' new stadium.

Pedestrian and cycle paths, road junction improvements, an underpass and a footbridge are being created under the £2.2 million project to give ample access by car, foot, bike and public transport to the new Premiership ground.

Work starts on Monday and is scheduled to be completed shortly before the club's first home match at the 32,000-seater Friends Provi-dent St Mary's Stadium in August.

Northam Road will be closed for at least four days over Easter and a diversion put in place while an underpass is dug.

Lane closures will dominate the route into the city centre for most of 2001.

City transport chief Councillor Richard Williams said: "We are co-ordinating the key closures over Easter when the children are off school and the traffic is lighter.

"We are keeping all relevant parties, such as the bus companies, informed.

"Journey times will obviously be longer but the aim is to make this as painless for motorists as we possibly can."

Saints stadium operations manager Chris Egelstaff said: "We cannot run a stadium without these road changes being put in place.

"In the long-term, we need to help people get to and from the stadium without causing a ripple effect of traffic problems across the city.

"The changes will bring many benefits and positive knock-on effects to residents.

"There will be better and safer access to the city centre from the stadium side of Northam Road, which can only help to open up the area."

The main features of the scheme are:

l Closure of Radcliffe Road at its southern end and Parsonage Road made one-way eastbound.

l A right-turn lane on Northam Road and two-way traffic in Britannia Road. This will allow vehicles to turn right from Northam Road towards the industrial area.

l Signalised pedestrian crossing over Northam Road and Britannia Road.

l Westbound bus lane to the east of the traffic signals on Northam Road.

l A roundabout at the junction of Britannia Road and Marine Parade due to the new two-way operation in Britannia Road.

l A short cycle link from Northam Road to Radcliffe Road.

l An underpass under Northam Road.

l A footbridge over the railway linking Old Northam Road with the stadium site.

l A new cycle route at the lower level linking the junction through the underpass with the new footbridge.

l Seven closed-circuit TV cameras along the new pedestrian and cycle route.

l Bus set down and pick-up points on Northam Road to the east of the junction with Britannia Road.

l Footway widening in Northam Road to provide for bus passengers and increased pedestrian volumes.

Drivers suffered 16 weeks of delays on the same stretch of road last summer when Transco tried to replace a major gas main.

The company ran out of time and will be returning for several weeks in the spring while the cones are out.

City council transportation engineer Graham Redman said traffic jams were inevitable.

He said: "There will have to be lane closures and we know drivers will not be happy about this.

"No major works can take place on a main route into the city without causing disruption.

"The aim is to improve pedestrian and cycle routes to the stadium and encourage the use of public transport.

"We can assure everyone that in 31 weeks' time it will be a lot better.

"Half the funding for the scheme will come from the club and the other half split between the council, regeneration money and the government.

"One aspect is a new link down to Golden Grove for pupils from Northam attending St Mary's Primary School, as part of the Safer Route to School initiative," he said.