Old bridge set to open soon

THE Silver Jubilee Bridge could finally reopen at the end of September, nearly three years after it closed for repairs.

At a meeting on Wednesday evening, July 15, Halton Borough Council officer Tim Gibbs said work on refurbishing the bridge was ‘pretty much complete now’.

He said: “What’s holding it up now is the Runcorn Station

Quarter work and the work on the roundabout on the expressway.

“Essentially we are waiting on that piece of road which I’m hoping will be the end of September, autumn time this year.”

The bridge closed for repairs following the opening of the Mersey Gateway in October 2017, the first time it had undergone major refurbishment since it opened in 1961.

It was supposed to reopen a year later, but the project has suffered a series of delays as Halton Council decided to demolish the Trumpet Loop flyover and reconfigure the roads around Runcorn station as part of a wider redevelopment plan.

This work has again been delayed due to the pandemic, Mr Gibbs told councillors, but is now nearing completion.

He added: “We are nearly there now.”

Pedestrians and cyclists have been able to use the bridge since the end of last year.

Once the bridge reopens to vehicles, it will provide an alternative to the Mersey Gateway that the council expects to be used mainly by local traffic.

Like the Mersey Gateway, however, vehicles will have to pay a £2 toll to cross the bridge when it reopens.