Network Rail appointed for Northam Rail Bridge project
Southampton City Council is pleased to confirm the appointment of Network Rail to support the development of the £75m Northam Rail Bridge project. This follows the acceptance of a £1.45m Department for Transport (DfT) grant in September 2024
Over several years, the council has been working with a range of partners including National Highways and Network Rail to bring forward a major project to replace and enhance the ageing Northam Rail Bridge, and the DfT is supplying this funding to enable the council and its partner Network Rail to develop the Outline Business Case (OBC), which is the next step in securing Government funding to deliver the project.
Northam Rail Bridge is a major route into the city centre from the east and crossing the railway, but it is an ageing structure which currently constrains all traffic passing through this crossing, and which particularly impacts the bus services that use this route. Working with Network Rail, the proposal would see the replacement of the existing rail bridge with two new 2-lane highway bridges, as well as a new pedestrian and cycle facilities, improvements to the footbridge to St Mary’s Stadium and junction works.
The project is a key component of the infrastructure pipeline required for Southampton’s economic growth and renaissance, unlocking new development opportunities in Itchen Riverside while also improving journey times and reliability for all modes of transport between the city centre, the eastern suburbs and wider area in Hampshire. The project is also anticipated to provide health benefits through improved air quality and enhanced pedestrian and cycle facilities as well as increasing biodiversity through new planting and landscaping.
Over the coming months, we will begin to carry out survey works on the railway, road and bridge to inform our proposals which may include lane restrictions or closures in certain areas, and we will publish more information on these works in due course.
Shanmukh Khanna, Sponsor for Network Rail said:
“Network Rail are pleased to be working in partnership with Southampton City Council on this exciting and important scheme for the future development of the city, and especially in the confidence shown by the council in choosing us to help develop the Outline Business Case. Network Rail brings experience and expertise in complex bridge structure scheme design, delivery and project management and we are looking forward to getting started.”
Councillor Eamonn Keogh, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said:
“We are extremely pleased in the confidence shown in the work undertaken by the council and our partners to date by the Department for Transport in making this grant available. While there are still many steps to go, we are working in partnership with Network Rail and our other stakeholders in progressing this vital enhancement on this key travel corridor.”
