THE final phase of reconstruction work at Southampton’s Millbrook Roundabout has begun.

Southampton City Council’s roads team announced that the third phase – which was expected to be the most disruptive for drivers – had finished a week ahead of schedule.

Motorists heading into the city encountered significant delays on a daily basis when approaching the junction between Millbrook Road West and Regents Park Road.

The £8.3million reconstruction work, which began on October 1 last year, entered the last stretch after phase three was completed at the weekend.

The city council puts the speedy progress down to “favourable weather conditions and good planning”.

The next phase is set to be completed by April 7 this year.

The southwest section of the roundabout and the northbound section of First Avenue, up to the entrance to the Household Waste and Recycling Centre, will both be shut during this phase.

Bosses say Millbrook flyover will continue to remain fully open throughout the works.

As well as this, the entrance to Dock Gate 20 is now open for the first time since the project started. As previously reported, the improvements include a new road surface, updated traffic signals, and a dedicated two-way cycle route.

Costing £8.3 million, the majority of the scheme’s funding, £5 million, has come from from the Department for Transport, with Southampton City Council adding in £3.3 million.