Sweyney Bridge to be closed for surfacing work

Sweyney Bridge, which carries the Broseley to Coalport road over a disused railway line near Station House, will be closed to traffic from 4pm until midnight for up to five days starting on Monday 28 October 2013.

The closures are required to enable road surfacing work to be carried out as part of ongoing work to strengthen Sweyney Bridge. Unfortunately, because of the narrow nature of the road at this location, this work cannot be carried out safely without temporarily closing the road.

When the bridge is closed, traffic will be diverted via Broseley, the Free Bridge, the Lloyds and Coalport. 

When Sweyney Bridge is closed, the nearby Coalport Bridge will remain open to traffic and the Woodbridge Inn will be open for business as usual. 

Because Coalport Bridge has a 3-tonne structural weight limit, heavier vehicles will not be able to access the short length of road between Coalport Bridge and Sweyney Bridge during the closure periods.  It has therefore been agreed with the emergency services that, should they need to cross Sweyney Bridge when it is closed, they will be allowed to do so.

The proposed road surfacing work will be the final phase of the ongoing bridge strengthening work being carried out by Alun Griffiths (Contractors) Ltd, and which is programmed to finish in early November 2013.

Claire Wild, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member responsible for bridge maintenance, said:

‘‘Whilst it is appreciated that the bridge closures will cause some inconvenience, they are unfortunately necessary to enable the work to be carried out safely, and everyone involved will do all that they reasonably can to keep them to a minimum.

‘’Evening closures have been deliberately chosen in an attempt to minimise their impact on the local community. This is considered to be the right balance between enabling delivery lorries to continue to access the Woodbridge Inn during the daytime, whilst minimising the night-time disturbance of nearby residents.”