Ludford Bridge repairs start

Road closure signs at Ludford Bridge following the collapse of a spandrel wall

Work to repair Ludford Bridge in Ludlow started on Monday 21 February 2011.

The first part of the repair involves erecting a complex scaffold platform to enable contractors to access the damaged part of the bridge. Once this is complete, work to repair the bridge itself will follow.

The repair will involve taking down areas of unstable stone masonry from alongside the existing area of collapse and then rebuilding the damaged part of the bridge using stone masonry. To ensure that the rebuilt part remains stable in the long term, it will be tied into the main body of the bridge using stainless steel bars.

The completed repair will be similar in appearance to the rest of the bridge.

For safety reasons, the bridge will need to continue to remain closed to traffic until it has been repaired. In the meantime, it will remain open to pedestrians and dismounted cyclists although, on occasions, construction work may result in some safety-related delays.

In an attempt to reopen the bridge as soon as possible, the contractors will be working during weekends. Nevertheless, it is expected that the bridge will not reopen to traffic until just before the Easter holiday period.

While the bridge is closed, traffic is being diverted via the A49 road, Henley Road, Gravel Hill, Station Drive, Corve Street and the Bullring.

Martin Taylor-Smith, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for transport
and IT, said:

“It is appreciated that the closure of the bridge is causing inconvenience and every reasonable effort will be made to complete the work and reopen it as soon as possible.”