SOUTHAMPTON'S Itchen Bridge was closed last night for the first round of major maintenance work.

The closures take place from 8pm to 6am and happened on 16 nights until mid-March.

Some of the initial works to replace expansion joints will be carried out with temporary traffic lights, meaning the bridge can remain open between 8pm and 11pm.

Expansion joints are designed to keep the bridge structure intact and allow smooth travel for traffic while taking into account any movement of the bridge.

Work will take place today, tomorrow and Wednesday (Feb 10), as well as February 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 29 and March 1 and 2 with some other days yet to be scheduled.

The city council says work "will be noisy at times but as much as possible the noisiest work will be carried out earlier into each closure" with locations on the bridge changing every night.

An overnight diversion route will be in place via Peartree Avenue, Bitterne Road West and Northam Bridge.

Some other repairs under the section of bridge over Bridge Road will also be carried out during the day time as part of the ongoing Pinch Point project which the council won money from the Department for Transport to carry out on a number of bridges.