The Chronicle

Re-opening of bridge delayed by a month

BURST MAIN CAUSED CLOSURE

- By DANIEL HOLLAND Local Democracy Reporter

REPAIR work to a bridge damaged by a dramatic water main burst has been delayed by more than a month.

Northumbri­an Water has confirmed that Newburn Bridge will remain shut until the end of September after engineers discovered electrical cables which need to be moved before they resume the bridge’s complex reconstruc­tion.

Just last week the water company said that the repairs were on track to be completed by the end of August. It has been closed to cars since the end of May.

Water shot metres into the sky and cars were left completely submerged when the pipe burst on May 21, while residents from 20 neighbouri­ng homes were evacuated as emergency services rushed to the scene.

A Northumbri­an Water spokesman said: “The opening of Newburn Bridge will be delayed until the end of September due to essential work needing to be carried out.

“After a major burst to pipework on the bridge back in May this year, we have been working non-stop to try and safely repair and reconstruc­t the bridge.

“Repairs to the water main are essentiall­y complete although we have found some electrical cables that need to be moved before we can safely continue with the constructi­on work.

“While this will take extra time to do and delay the opening of the bridge, it is unforeseen essential work needed to protect the public and our staff.

“We are working closely with Northern Power Grid and National Grid to complete this as quickly as possible so we can continue with the repairs and re-open the bridge.

“We are really sorry for the inconvenie­nce this ongoing road closure is causing and please be assured we are doing everything we can to get the bridge back open.”

The bridge, which connects Newburn and Blaydon, has been closed to traffic ever since the pipe burst, though pedestrian­s and cyclists are able to cross.

It was initially expected that major repair works would take up to two months to complete.

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