Cleveland Bridge fully reopens after year of roadworks
Cleveland Bridge in Bath fully reopened for motorists on Sunday, October 2.
The Grade Ii-listed structure closed completely in June 2021, before opening to one-way traffic in October last year. Now, the temporary lights have been removed and the crossing is back in action.
An 18-tonne weight limit remains in force – preventing very heavy lorries from using the bridge. ANPR cameras have also been installed to capture the details of any vehicles in breach of the weight limit.
Engineers have installed a monitoring system to ensure that the bridge remains safe as it is returned to service. It comes after experts said that the bridge should reopen in stages.
At first, the 18-tonne temporary load restriction will remain and if the monitoring system shows there are no issues then the bridge could technically and safely open to loads of 44 tonnes. A passive support system could be designed to provide longerterm surety.
Manda Rigby, the council’s cabinet member for transport, said: “As ever, our prime motivation in doing these works on the historic bridge is to ensure that safety comes first. I am pleased to see that it is now possible to open to two-way traffic with an 18-tonne weight limit, the traffic signals were removed on Sunday evening, and monitoring and enforcement equipment has been fitted.
“The bridge load will be closely monitored and we have installed ANPR cameras to capture the details of any vehicles breaching the weight restriction. Drivers that do flout the restriction are being warned that they could face prosecution brought by Trading Standards or the Police or via a Fixed Penalty Notice. It is a criminal offence to contravene a traffic regulation order.
“Anyone using the bridge will still see some final masonry works going on now the scaffold has been taken down as part of its refurbishment and I really want to thank businesses and residents living on and near Cleveland Bridge for their patience during this complex refurbishment of a 200-year-old structure.”
Last spring, unexpected and severe corrosion was discovered on the hangar bars which support key concrete trusses under the bridge. This delayed the project’s reopening date as the structure needed further assessment by engineers.
Over the summer, they were able to give more accurate information on how much of each of the bars had been lost to corrosion, by using castings of them. An experts’ report said an intelligent monitoring system would allow the structure to be brought back into service following a period of monitoring under test loads.
Using the monitoring system will provide early detection of any changes in the characteristic ‘fingerprint’ response of the structure and enable the introduction of control measures to ensure public safety in a considered, timely and measured way.
Masonry works, which couldn’t be completed while scaffolding was in place, will continue underneath the bridge for a number of weeks and the contractor’s works compound will be scaled back.