Replacement of Burway Bridge in Ludlow

Progress of the replacement Burway Bridge September 2008

Burway Bridge in Ludlow repened to traffic on Friday 12 September.

The bridge is open to two way traffic under traffic light control and it is also open to pedestrians.

Work will continue to finish building the new bridge which is expected to be completed in mid-December 2008.

After opening the bridge, it will be necessary to close it again for approximately two days in mid-October. During this period, traffic will again be diverted into Ludlow along Henley Road and Gravel Hill.

Recognising that the closure of this main route into the town would inevitably result in inconvenience and disruption, one of the principal aims of the project was to keep the duration of the road closure to a minimum. Through the hard work of both the designer, Mouchel, and the contractor, McPhillips, this has been achieved and all parties are pleased that the road could be reopened in time for Ludlow's Food Festival on the Saturday (13 September) and Sunday (14 September).

Progress of the replacement Burway Bridge July 2008

Work to replace the Burway Bridge in Ludlow is progressing well and remains on programme for the new bridge to be reopened to single lane traffic in mid September (2008).

The 30 July 2008 will see a significant milestone achieved when 15 concrete bridge beams will be delivered to the site and craned into position over the river. These beams will be 21.7 metres long and will weigh up to 32 tonnes a piece.

After the beams have been erected, a reinforced concrete slab will be built on top of them followed by the construction of the new road surface.

It is expected that by mid-September enough of the new bridge will have been built to enable Coronation Avenue to be reopened to single lane traffic under traffic light control.

After reopening the bridge in September, the gas, water and BT companies will be on site diverting their services onto the new bridge. Until this has been done the temporary services bridge currently in place behind Honda Equipe cannot be removed.

After removing the temporary services bridge, a new riverside retaining wall can then be built behind Honda Equipe in order to complete the new bridge.

The whole scheme is expected to finish in mid-December (2008) when the road will once again be opened to two lane traffic.

During the bridge building work, traffic into Ludlow is being diverted along an alternative signed route and the town’s car parks can all be readily accessed. Businesses are also open for trade as normal.

Background history to the collapse of the Burway Bridge

The Burway Bridge, which carried Coronation Avenue over the River Corve in Ludlow, collapsed on 26 June 2007 during exceptionally heavy flooding, leaving a 16 metre wide breach in one of the main routes into the town.

When the bridge collapsed, most of the services that it carried were also damaged. As a result, the water, gas and electricity companies carried out immediate emergency repairs to their services.

Although the BT cables carried by the bridge also fell into the river, they fortunately remained intact.

The day after the collapse of the bridge, part of the nearby house known as 57a Lower Corve Street also collapsed into the river as a result of flood damage.

The new bridge

The new bridge has been designed to cater for floods specified by the Environment Agency and will have a span of 21 metres which is over twice as long as that of the old bridge.

Work to build the bridge started on 14 April 2008 and is expected to last until December 2008.

Unfortunately, in order to carry out the work the B4361, Coronation Avenue is closed to traffic and pedestrians for part of the construction period. This closure started on 21 April 2008 and is expected to remain in place until the end of September 2008, when the road will be re-opened under traffic light control.

Throughout this closure, Ludlow remains open for business as usual.

Traffic into Ludlow town centre from the north is being diverted along the A49 to the Henley Road Roundabout, then into town along Henley Road, Gravel Hill and Station Drive.

With the exception of high vehicles, traffic out of the town is signed to the A49 along Station Drive and Sheet Road. Because of a low headroom bridge over Sheet Road, high vehicles are being directed to the A49 via Gravel Hill and Henley Road.

In addition to the signing of diversion routes for incoming and outgoing traffic, local traffic from the vicinity of the Leisure Centre and the Ludlow Church of England School is signed up New Road to join the main diversion route at Gravel Hill.

During the bridge closure, pedestrians wishing to use Coronation Avenue are diverted via Lower Corve Street and Bromfield Road.

The town end of Lower Corve Street is closed for the duration of the work. This is considered necessary for safety reasons.

Please see an attached map of the diversion routes.