There have been numerous main road casualties this month. The list below indicates where main road SOX still exists in the south Hampshire urban area.

Bursledon Road, Southampton (west of Bath Rd) (Z9454) - in prog.
Charles Watts Way, Hedge End (west of M27 J7) (Z9554M/MA50)
Eastern Way, Fareham (1no. at east end of Quay St flyover) (Z9554M)
Glen Eyre Road, Southampton (1no. at jct with Bassett Ave) (Z9454) - due imminently
Gosport Road, Fareham (north of Newgate La) (MA50) - in prog.
Hamble Lane, Bursledon (A3025 element, Hound Rd-Hamble Stn)(Z9454/MA50/MA90/Alpha 4) - part due imminently
High Street, Botley (west of Mortimer Rd) (MA50) - due imminently
Hulbert Road, Bedhampton (around Purbrook Way Rbt) (Hyperion 135) - road scheme in prog.
Hulbert Road, Waterlooville (east of Curzon Rd) (Z9554M/MA50)
Lances Hill, Southampton (Z9454/MA90) - due Feb.
Leigh Road, Eastleigh (around M3 J13) (MA50/MA60)
M27 J5 roundabout, Eastleigh (north side) (MA50/MA60) - road scheme in prog.
Newgate Lane, Fareham (south of Tanners La) (HW509/Z9454/MA90/P157)
Purbrook Way, Bedhampton (west of Hulbert Rd) (GR150/Z9554/MA50/Hyperion 135)
Segensworth Road, Segensworth (around Witherbed La) (Z9554)
Southampton Road, Segensworth (Segensworth Rbt-Telford Way)(Z9554/MA50) - in prog.
Western Way, Fareham (Z9554/MA50) - in prog.
Whiteley Way, Whiteley (south of Rookery Ave) (Z9555) - road scheme due Feb.

The 1980s era Stainton hex hockey sticks are now getting very thin on the ground as the PFI continues.

Over 50 will be replaced on the Gosport Road, Fareham as noted in the post above, indeed some have already been pulled this week.

Further casualties are these on the A343 south of Andover - all replaced with Fabrikat PFI columns in the last 2 weeks. This picture is from 2012.

Are SEC planning the PFI works according to what we post on Ukastle?



A week later and new 8m steel columns have been installed in Pulborough next to the sleeved concretes and this afternoon, lanterns were being fitted.

Although the Z8896 I linked to in GSV is still there, others nearby were today swapped out for Libras, some on new pole mounts with new control boxes.

The Z8896 has now been replaced by a Libra.

Replacements of the concretes on the A29 continue, this one however will prove to be a very tricky and delicate operation. The reinstatement works will also require some "non stock" materials!

Up on the A264, near to Horsham, replacement works have now started on the Rusper Road roundabout.

In Fareham, work on the A32 Gosport Road replacing the early 1980s Stainton hockey sticks fitted with MA50s - one of the last remaining stretches of 135W SOX in the town - is now complete as far as the footbridge, just north of Redlands Lane.

In this 2010 image, the footbridge can be seen - The Stainton's were beyond that, although the double bracket columns and lighting this side of the bridge remain untouched.



Also untouched for the moment is this lighting on the link under the Newgate Lane flyover.

In Southampton, unsleeved main road concretes are now extinct, and the only main road concretes surviving are on the Cobden Bridge (sleeved with ZX2s). In addition to this, Lance's Hill in Bitterne is the only road now remaining with 90W SOX in Southampton, mostly equipped with Z9454s but also a solitary MA90.

With the exception of a survivor in French Street, Phosco P125s have died out, and there is only a single road remaining lit by 55W SOX (Station Road, Sholing).

On the Totton Bypass, works are still dragging on slowly, and it seems there are still the longstanding issues with the supply of lanterns. Whilst many columns on the westbound side have been fitted with the correct Lumas, those on the eastbound side have been fitted with Arcs. When I say Arcs, it would appear to be of the flat-glass, grey, SON variety, so something completely different to anything installed in this part of the region before.

Here is an update on the remaining main road SOX in south Hampshire:

Botley Road, North Baddesley (1no. west of Rownhams La) (MA50)
Charles Watts Way, Hedge End (west of M27 J7) (Z9554M/MA50)
Eastern Way, Fareham (1no. at east end of Quay St flyover) (Z9554M)
Gosport Road, Fareham (north of Newgate La) (MA50) - in prog.
Hamble Lane, Bursledon (A3025 element)(Z9454/MA50/MA90/Alpha 4) - due imminently
Hulbert Road, Bedhampton (around Purbrook Way Rbt) (MA50/Hyperion 135) - road scheme in prog.
Hulbert Road, Waterlooville (east of Curzon Rd) (Z9554M/MA50) - in prog.
Lances Hill, Southampton (Z9454/MA90) - due imminently
M27 J5 roundabout, Eastleigh (north side) (MA50) - road scheme in prog.
Newgate Lane, Fareham (south of Tanners La) (HW509/Z9454/MA90/P157)
Purbrook Way, Bedhampton (west of Hulbert Rd) (GR150/Z9554/MA50/Hyperion 135) - in prog./road scheme in prog.
Segensworth Road, Segensworth (1no. around Witherbed La) (Z9554)
Western Way, Fareham (1no. at west end of Quay St flyover) (Z9554)
Whiteley Way, Whiteley (south of Rookery Ave) (Z9555) - road scheme due Feb.[/quote]

Well the black 6m columns with green Libras were indeed a temporary affair, but the permanent replacements weren't as I expected.

Both the columns and the Libras have gone replaced with modern reproduction columns which are a fairly good match (including the distinctive brackets) to the Victorian columns in the High Street. They are certainly a better effort than these (below) installed in East Street 5 years ago - but not as part of the PFI.

Well, this month is the final month of the core investment programme. It is very unlikely that everything is going to be completed by the deadline, but the concerted effort we have seen in 2015 is going to continue. Main road SOX has now died out in Southampton except for a disconnected survivor, and whilst there are a couple of notable main road replacement schemes still due to happen the focus at the moment is in the old town, as well as sweeping up some of the side road stuff missed elsewhere.

In Hampshire, main road SOX is continuing to take a battering and come the end of the month there won't be much left at all. 180W SOX has gone now. Side road SOX is very rare now, confined to a handful of roads and footpaths in Hampshire and Southampton. I only know of one side road in Southampton that can be described as SOX lit, with the rest of the side road SOX in Southampton being the odd column on a footpath or in a parking/garage block area.

The question is still of what happens come April. Will SSE make an effort to finish all unfinished business, or will the efforts sharply tail off and only a couple of schemes be done?

Both now replaced.