Bridge over A5 struck at least once a month
THE railway bridge on the A5 was struck on average more than once a month in the past five years.
The battered bridge on the main road outside Hinckley was hit 64 times since September 2013, with at least 55 of the crashes involving HGVs.
The statistics came to light after a Freedom of Information request by a resident on Nutts Lane, which often clogs up with diverted traffic after the bridge is struck.
Councillor David Bill, who represents Clarendon ward on Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, said: “This information confirms what we already know of course.
“What is of concern is that all journeys involving the A5 seem to take longer by the day.
“When anything happens to the bridge these journeys become impossible.”
The bridge was hit 29 times from September 2013 to August 2016 and 35 times from September 2016 to August 2018.
Of the five year total, 55 crashes involved HGVs while the type of vehicle was not recorded for the other nine incidents.
Network Rail provided the information.
The last scrape was in July 2018 and before that in early June, just nine weeks after a lorry spilt its load of mayonnaise and beer onto the road after hitting it.
The bridge came eighth in a list of bridges most hit by overheight vehicles in Railway Magazine in 2017.
It was hit twice in three weeks in early 2017.