Portsmouth's Eastern Road to shut for road works as Portsmouth FC game versus Bolton finishes

Portsmouth FC are taking on Bolton at Fratton Park with kick-off at 8pm meaning the game is set to finish just before 10pm – the time the road closures were due to start.

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But supporters are facing even more disruption than normal with a road closure in place for the Eastern Road from 10pm until 5am on Tuesday due to city council road works, according to One Network. A post said “cleansing works” will take place with a “closure from Eastern road roundabout to Burrfields Road”. Signs on Eastern Road for the past week have also warned that the closures will start at 8pm, causing confusion for drivers.

However, a spokesperson from the city council has this morning told The News that the road closure will be delayed later than 10pm to allow football traffic to clear.

The road has been the scene of a number of delays recently with another Southern Water burst sewer earlier this month leading to a land closure on the southbound Eastern Road over the bridge. This follows the company’s earlier repair work to another nearby section of the sewer which resulted in the closure of the southbound carriageway for several days – creating traffic chaos. “Our teams quickly attended the site and have deployed four tankers to support the clean-up of the area and remove any excess water to avoid flooding. Since then, one lane has been closed Southbound on Eastern Road,” the company said in a statement.

Repair work was due to begin after Christmas, but now work will start later this week.

“Due to the traffic disruption this is causing, anyone travelling to Portsmouth is being advised to plan their journey and allow extra time. The repair work is scheduled to start at 8pm on Thursday December 14 to avoid the Pompey matches when there is a higher volume of traffic expected in this area. Colas engineering company will need to close Eastern Road southbound, from Farlington Roundabout to Anchorage Road, throughout the works so we can carry out the repairs safely.”