Bridge lane opening ‘by end of month’
WORK ON COURSE TO FINISH BY END OF NOVEMBER
HIGHWAYS bosses say they remain on course to open more lanes on the A52 Clifton Bridge by the end of September – and the bridge’s layout will return to normal in the coming months.
In February last year, engineers had to close the eastbound bridge after they found that the internal structure had become more corroded than previously thought.
As a result, the bridge, which holds up one of the busiest transport routes in the city, has been partially closed for more than a year.
Nottingham South’s Labour MP Lilian Greenwood said in July that the Queens Drive slip road and a third lane were hoped to reopen this month.
In an update, Highways England officials said they were on course to do just that, saying work to strengthen the bridge was progressing well.
Highways England’s head of service delivery, Adrian Oulds, said: “Work is progressing well, and we’d like to thank motorists for their continued patience while we carry out these repairs. “While the work we’re carrying out is complex, our ambition is to open an additional lane across the bridge around the end of September and to restore the bridge back to its original traffic layout around the end of November.
“As part of this stage of repairs, we’re putting a new strengthening system in place on the exterior of the structure which will make it much easier to access for any future maintenance.
“While we have lanes closed, we’re also taking the opportunity to carry out other maintenance work which would have been needed at some point in the future.
“By doing this additional work now, it reduces the risk of water damaging the structure and allows our teams to work safely away from passing vehicles.”
In a recent update, engineers said “a series of short closures” had been necessary throughout August and September so that additional lanes can open up again.
“These closures will be a mix of lane closures over the weekend, and some complete overnight closures,” Highways England said.
The highways agency had hoped the bridge would be operating at full capacity by February – but a series of investigations uncovered more work was needed.
The closure resulted in huge traffic delays for weeks on end.
At one point Nottingham was the most congested city in the world.