New inspection to be carried out at Colwall Bridge
Herefordshire Council's contractors Owen Williams and Network Rail's appointed engineers are to undertake a new, more detailed inspection of the condition of Colwall Bridge before a decision is made on whether a bailey bridge needs to be constructed or not.
The railway bridge in Colwall Green on the B4218 was closed on Wednesday, August 15, due to public safety concerns after a routine inspection revealed signs of corrosion.
Martin Jackson, Herefordshire Council's construction projects team leader, said: "We have already been able to open the bridge to pedestrian traffic and are now carrying out a new inspection of the bridge to help us decide on the next step.
"This second report will be more detailed than the initial one and help us to decide whether we can open up the present bridge to light traffic or whether we will have to install a bailey bridge instead," he added.
"The second inspection will enable us to assess, with confidence, the capacity of the bridge and Herefordshire Council will only remove or amend the restrictions on the bridge when it is safe to do so," he added.
A replacement bridge will be provided but, because this work will involve closure of the railway line, a starting date will first have to be agreed with Network Rail.
In the meantime, Herefordshire Council is working on designs for a bailey bridge with a 20-metre span which would be able to carry heavy goods vehicles.
Martin Jackson said: "Network Rail usually plan these major projects two to three years in advance so we will be negotiating with them to get this work done as soon as possible.
"In Herefordshire, we have 700 bridges to maintain and repair as part of our transport plan and we already spend £700,000 a year on routine maintenance costs.
"The government allocates money for a wide range of highways works but there are limits on what we can spend and the last major bridge project we were able to complete was a £1.5million scheme in Bridge Sollars in 2003," he added.
