Flood Recovery – Roads and Bridges
In the immediate aftermath of the floods in Cumbria, 17 road bridges were closed and 3 had collapsed (20 in total). Of these bridges 10 have now re-opened, leaving 7 closed and 3 collapsed (10 in total). Visual inspections have taken place on all 1,240 bridges in the county which are near water. Full structural inspections on some of the bridges still need to take place, but have been hindered by high water levels impeding the ability of divers to inspect underwater foundations.
Currently the two sides of Workington, separated by the river Derwent, are connected only by a 52 metre steel footbridge. This bridge has been built across the River Derwent by army engineers in a project co-ordinated by the county council and funded by the Department for Transport. It has been confirmed that a temporary road bridge will be built in Workington by late spring 2010. The temporary bridge will be a two-lane road bridge capable of taking HGVs up to 44-tonnes, therefore supporting the needs of local businesses. It will also have a pedestrian footway and cycleway. The project is being co-ordinated by Cumbria County Council and funded by the Department for Transport. The county council anticipates that work will start on site next month following the awarding of a contract to the successful bidder.
The preferred site for the bridge is to build it approximately 200 metres east of the collapsed Northside bridge and connecting via the Black Path to the A597 at the roundabout by Allerdale House.
Cumbria County Council have stated that they believe the quickest possible time for a permanent road bridge to be in place is 2 years, and the temporary road bridge will need to be in operation until a permanent bridge is open.
The severely damaged Workington (Calva) Bridge is a Grade 2 listed structure. The Council is currently in discussions with interested parties such as English Heritage to determine whether the bridge will be demolished.
Details of bridge closures can be found on the Cumbria County Council website here:
http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/floods/roadbridgenews.asp
A press release concerning the temporary road bridge can be found here:
Download press release from Cumbria Country Council on temporary road bridge (PDF format 37Kb)
