Weston bridge to close for £80k improvements works
Eleanor Young
The Drove Road Bridge which will be closed for five days. Picture: Google Maps
Tens of thousands of pounds will be spent upgrading a busy Weston bridge.
North Somerset Council has announced it will spend £80,000 to make road and path improvements to Drove Road Bridge, which links Locking Road to the Drove Road roundabout.
The busy bridge will be closed to traffic for five days from June 24 to allow for it to be resurfaced and the paths to be patched.
A route for pedestrians will stay open throughout the works, which will be carried out by council contractors' Skanska.
There will be access available for businesses and homes on both sides of the bridge.
However drivers will need to follow a diversion route via Hildesheim Bridge, Francis Fox Road and Locking Road.
Cllr James Tonkin, the authority's new executive member responsible for highways, said: "This is a key route for Weston, linking two busy main roads.
"The resurfacing work will keep the road moving for many years to come, while the pavement improvements will smooth out lumps and bumps and protect the surface from further deterioration.
"By fully closing the bridge to traffic during the work, we are able to get it finished as quickly as possible.
"The short diversion should not cause too much disruption to traffic, but those who will be travelling in the area may like to leave a little extra time for their journey."
The scheme is part of the council's ongoing maintenance programme of its 1,100km network.
Winterstoke Road is also set to close for four days from June 13 to review the road's condition and to, if needed, make resurfacing improvements.
The local authority announced in December last year it would have to place a weight limit on the bridge in the busy road due to its risk of collapse.
Buses and lorries with a mass of more than 7.5 tonnes now have to go through the town centre and along the seafront to reach the industrial estates in the south of Weston.
The cost of replacing the bridge, which is owned by the Ministry of Defence who built it in 1941, were in the region of £13million.
Winterstoke Road will be closed daily from 8pm-6am while the Drove Road Bridge will be closed all day and night.