Resurfacing bridge works start date is delayed

RESURFACING works on the Tamar Bridge have been put back again at the request of the contractor. The major project was due to start in April, which will see the bridge closed to pedestrians, cyclists and mobility scooters for a number of months.

However, the work will now not start until June 1 at the request of the contractor VolkerLaser to “ensure that all its specialist equipment and workforce are in place before work begins on resurfacing the deck, and traffic restrictions are introduced.”

In an update on Friday, the Tamar Bridge website posted: “Resurfacing the Tamar Bridge is a highly complex project. Unlike bridges which have concrete decks, the Tamar Bridge has an orthotropic steel deck which has to be resurfaced using a specialist asphalt material.

“The bridge deck surfacing operation is very highly specialised, and only a very small number of contractors around the world are able to lay the type of surfacing material being used on Tamar Bridge. VolkerLaser has therefore engaged Swiss company Aeschlimann AG, who carried out the resurfacing of the Plymouth side span of the Tamar Bridge in 2011.

“VolkerLaser worked very hard to ensure that all the machinery and specialist contractors were ready for the planned start of the project in mid-April. However, while the majority of the contractors are in place, issues with visas means that work and travel arrangements for some of the 20 EU based Aeschlimann staff are still being resolved.”

The change means that the works will not now be completed by the end of September. It is now hoped all lanes on the bridge will be open by the end of this year.