Rhyd-Meredith Bridge road closure – 8 February 2017

Rhyd-Meredith Bridge will be closed on Wednesday 8 February 2017 between the hours of 9am and 4pm to enable a bridge inspection to be undertaken.

The bridge carries the A495 over the River Tanat.

The bridge must be closed to traffic while this inspection is being carried out as access equipment will be positioned on the road, and it is too narrow for the work to be carried out safely with the bridge open to traffic.

When the road is closed, traffic will be diverted southbound along the A495 from Porth-y-Waen to Llynclys, south along the A483 to Llanymynech then west along the B4398 and B4393 roads to Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain. Northbound traffic will be diverted vice versa.

Access for pedestrians and dismounted cyclists will remain available at the bridge throughout the work.

Simon Jones, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways and transportation, said:

“It is appreciated that the bridge closure will cause some inconvenience, and everyone involved will do all that they reasonably can to reopen it as soon as possible.”

Arthur Walpole, local Shropshire Councillor for Llanymynech, said:-

“The bridge lies just on the English side of the border with Wales and carries water flowing down off the Welsh hills on its way to the River Vyrnwy and thence to the Severn.

“The integrity of the bridge is essential both to ensure the flow of high water levels and to safely carry the volume of road traffic along this A road.

“I am sure that it will be readily understood that a short period of closure is necessary so that the periodic safety checks can be carried out, as these are critical to ensuring the structural integrity of the bridge.”