Bus ban for North Bridge unless urgent repairs done
Refurbishment plan totalling £22.3m drawn up to address safety concerns
Buses and heavy lorries will have to be banned from Edinburgh’s historic North Bridge unless millions of pounds of vital repairs are carried out, councillors have been warned.
A report has revealed loose material has fallen off the Grade A-listed structure on several occasions over the past three years. An inspection found badly rusted steelwork and crumbling concrete.
A £22.3 million programme of repairs and refurbishment has been drawn up for the 120-year-old bridge, which carries the A7 over Market Street and Waverley station. Work is scheduled to start this summer and be completed in autumn 2020.
But the report to the council’s transport and environment committee said it was a complex project, with work on the section of bridge over the railway potentially restricted to just two hours a night when trains are not running.
The report said: “Little maintenance work has been undertaken on the bridge other than in 1933 when steelwork was replaced near road level, and in 1990 when the topside of the bridge was waterproofed and the decorative façade was painted.”
And it said recent inspec- tions showed the structure was in poor condition.
“Thebridgemustberepaired to address health and safety concerns and safeguard the long-term use of this vital link to Edinburgh’s city centre.
“Over the past three years there have been a number of incidents of loose material falling from the underside and façade of the bridge.
“If repair work is not undertaken, the bridge will continue to deteriorate and it may be necessary to impose a weight restriction that could impact its usage by public transport and freight traffic.”
Work has already been done to meet immediate safety issues and temporary netting has been installed to protect people passing underneath.
The report said most of the repairs and refurbishment could be carried out with “only occasional off-peak, overnight or weekend lane closures” affecting traffic on the bridge. It added a temporary weight restriction may be needed, but this would not affect buses.
Councillors are also being offered the option to include additional improvements in the refurbishment, including widened and decluttered footpaths and carriageway resurfacing.
The report warned factors outside the contractors’ control, such as the weather and the time they are allowed to work above the rail line, could push the cost up.