A458 Bridgnorth bypass improvement works completed

Improvement work on the A458 Bridgnorth bypass was completed on Friday 24 November 2017.

The work – which began on 11 July – is the first significant maintenance carried out to the road since it was built in the 1980s, and has been necessary in order to repair and replace infrastructure that had reached the end of its life.

Gurnek Singh (Shropshire Council), Councillor Steve Davenport, Paul Inions (McPhillips), Hedd Jones (Shropshire Council) and Ian Roberts (McPhillips) look at the newly-improved A458, River Severn Bridge and the Severn Valley Railway Bridge.

The bypass maintenance project has seen the replacement of bridge expansion joints on the Bridgnorth River Severn Bridge, along with associated concrete repairs to the bridge and works on the bridge parapets.

The A458 and the roundabout approaches have been resurfaced, road signs and road markings have been replaced and refreshed, and footpaths have been repaired.

The street lighting and safety barriers have been updated and drainage improvements carried out.

The Severn Valley Railway Overbridge has also been repainted.

As works progressed it was clear that the cost of the scheme was going to fall under the allocated budget.

It was therefore decided to incorporate the resurfacing of the Stourbridge Road roundabout into the works, rather than carry this work out a later date.

In addition essential tree clearance and coppicing has been carried out, to help ensure the longest possible maintenance-free period following the completion of the works.

As a result of the additional works the project took two weeks longer than originally scheduled.

One job that remains to be completed is the replacement of the parapet mesh infill panels over the River Severn bridge. As it hasn’t been possible to procure the large quantity of mesh panels required before the contractor left the site, this work is expected to take place shortly after Christmas – and take two weeks to complete. To minimise disruption to the public during the day it is planned to undertake these works at night, utilising two-way traffic signals on the bridge between the hours of 8pm and 6am.

During the design phase a budget of £2.3 million was identified for the works cost.  The current estimated cost for the project is £2.21 million.

Steve Davenport, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways and transport, said:

“I’m delighted that this major and important project has now been successfully completed. I appreciate that these works caused significant traffic disruption and delays to both local residents and road users and I thank them for their understanding and patience while work was carried out.

“This work was essential to maintaining a safe road network which was nearing the end of its life. I hope local people and road users will notice and appreciate the improvements that have been made to the road, the pavements and the bridges.”

The principal contractor for the works was McPhillips (Wellington) Ltd and the engineering consultant was WSP UK Ltd, Shropshire Council’s term consultant.

For more information about the work go to shropshire.gov.uk/a458.