New date for demolition of bridge battered by lorries

A LORRY-BATTERED bridge in Nuneaton could be bulldozed earlier than planned, bringing an end to traffic woes.

It has been revealed that Warwickshire County Council is hoping to remove the unused railway bridge in Hinckley Road by January of next year.

This is several months earlier than planned and would bring an end the long-running saga of lorries becoming wedged underneath, causing snarls of traffic in the area.

“The demolition of the disused bridge will be undertaken in advance of the other improvements identified for the A47 (which have a completion date of March 2020),” a spokesperson for Shire Hall said.

“We will be working with Atkins who will complete the necessary design and contract preparation for the demolition work together with Highways England who own the bridge. There are challenges with regards to the location of the bridge and the timing and booking of road space but we will be working hard to minimise these risks to meet the scheduled completion date of January 2019.”

The news has been welcomed by ward county councillor Keith Kondakor who said: “It will be great to have the bridge removed which will eliminate the regular bridge strikes by lorries and provide a more pleasant environment to walk into town. We also need to remove the areas which accumulate litter and give the area a good makeover.”

Warwickshire County Council announced last October that it has received a chunk of funds to make improvements along the A47 link road and part of the plan would be to remove the unused railway bridge on Hinckley Road. The Department for Transport will provide £2.84m towards the traffic busting scheme on the A47 Hinckley Road, which includes demolishing the bridge. What is also not known is whether the £2.84m will cover the entire project.

Not only does the county council want to get rid of the bridge, it also wants to create a new junction, and improved roundabout with extra pedestrian facilities and improved cycling infrastructure.