A £5million project to repair bridges in the county is making good progress. 

 

Last year the County Council successfully secured £3.7million from the Government for works on ‘high-value’ steel bridges, from its Department for Transport Highway Maintenance Challenge Fund – the third time in a row the council has successfully bid for and won funding from this national scheme. 
 

Combined with a further £1.1million from the local authority, the project earmarked eight bridges to be fully repainted and repaired. 
 

These are: C172 Alwinton Bridge; B6319 Haydon Bridge; B6341 Hepple; A1068 Lesbury; C202 Redesmouth; A697 Weldon River Bridge; B6461 Whiteadder (near Paxton); C254 Wylam River Tyne. 
 

However much of the work had to be put on hold due to the Covid 19 pandemic and now teams are making up for lost time. 
 

The main part of the work involves repairing or replacing the protective paintwork on the bridges preserving these essential crossing points for future years. 
 

Design work is nearing completion for all bridges with the painting of Whiteadder bridge scheduled for December. 
 

The contract for the works to Wylam Bridge is out to tender and is due to start in January. The works are estimated to take approximately 22 weeks to complete, depending on the weather. 
 

As part of the work, the contractor will require access to and use of land around the bridge to erect scaffolding.  The public footpath beneath the Wylam end will be kept open except when the scaffolding is erected and dismantled. 
 

The works to the remaining bridges are going out to tender shortly, with the painting works expected to take place early in the new year. 

Councillor John Riddle, cabinet member for local services, said: “These bridges are vital crossing points for communities, businesses and tourists and we need to keep them in good condition. 
 

“We’re pleased to be making good progress on all the schemes with work starting as soon as next month, and these repairs will protect the bridge steelwork and give them a new lease of life to ensure they remain fit for future generations to use.