Southampton City Council has committed a £11.9 million spend for the highways and footways programme which will be delivered over the next 12 months

Selected roads and pavements will benefit from resurfacing and/or patching works which will be completed by January 2024. The full list of roads will be announced later in the Spring 2023.

There has been considerable investment into the roads maintenance programme over the last few years, which is reflected in strong results; 5,204 potholes have been repaired over the last 12 months, with a total of 4,971 reported incidents. Improving roads is a key priority for the council, especially over the winter months which is why 100% of the winter routes were gritted on time and the council also has a dedicated pothole repair spend which was over £1.4m last year.

The latest road improvements, delivered by Balfour Beatty Living Places, include the resurfacing of Vincents Walk, to protect the structure of the road and prevent it from needing further excavation. Local businesses and their customers, as well as buses and bus passengers will all benefit from the surfacing improvements and the area is now a more attractive space for everyone.

Road repair works have also recently been completed on Brookvale Road from the junction with Portswood Road. On Thomas Lewis Way, traffic signal improvements have been completed at the junctions of Lawn Road, Horseshoe Bridge, and Mayfield Road, ensuring that traffic capacity and travel times will be improved along this high-capacity route.

Other key projects in the city delivered last year include Weston Shore, where the council built a wall of rock defence to stop coastal erosion from destroying this popular area for years to come. Weston Shore is Southampton’s only publicly accessible natural coastline, so it was really important for us to future proof the area to make sure people can continue to spend time here. The scheme was completed two weeks ahead of schedule and seven new species were planted to improve biodiversity, said the council.

Last year, it also launched Southampton’s 20mph speed limit programme, starting at Bassett East and Flowers Estate. The project involved installing 20mph limit signage along with physical speed reduction measures to reduce the risk of collisions.  The scheme has been a huge success to date since the council received 47 formal requests and online petitions from residents across the city. All the requests were included in proposals for implementing 20mph speed limits across 14 areas over the next two years.

Councillor Eamonn Keogh, Cabinet Member for Growth and District Regeneration, commented: “This is a positive step for all road users whether they drive, walk or cycle. We know from speaking to residents that improving our roads is a top priority for them. We have already got an excellent highway maintenance programme in place which means our Highways partners Balfour Beatty Living Places are out every week repairing roads and responding to calls from the public.”