Southampton Itchen Bridge toll to rise
It'll jump up from April
The toll for Southampton's Itchen Bridge is to rise by up to 20p – despite four out of five consultation respondents opposing the idea.
The crossing fee will rise from 80p to £1 at peak times and 70p to 80p at off-peak times.
Residents with a smart cities card will not face any price rises and will continue to pay 40p at peak times and 30p at off-peak times.
The price-rises will earn Southampton City Council an extra £1.72 million over the next four years – and is part of a large number of savings the council has planned in this February’s (2023) budget.
A consultation sent out saw 137 out of the 169 respondents object to the proposal to increase the toll, however, according to a council report: “Officers do not consider that any overriding reasons were submitted for not implementing the changes.”
The council says that it is ‘rare’ for a bridge the size of the Itchen Bridge to be solely financed by the local authority, citing the Government financing of the River Severn crossing – but due to the fact that the Itchen Bridge is ‘not a key strategic transport route’, it is ‘unlikely’ this will change.
The council is also planning on (next year) doing £4.5 million of work to the bridge to improve drainage, footways and safety – and some of this will be financed by the increased revenue from the toll hike.
The Cabinet is expected to approve the proposal next Tuesday (21st February) in time for it to feature on the next day’s (22nd February) budget.
The toll increase is then expected to be in effect from the 1st of April (2023).