Burway Bridge in Ludlow

Work to replace 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).

This Wednesday (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.

John Williams, Shropshire County Council’s Bridge Team Leader, said "It is appreciated that the work is causing some inconvenience and the bridge building team is doing all that it reasonably can to reopen the road as soon as possible. It is hoped that this will be before the start of the Food Festival on 12 September however it is too early for us to be able to guarantee this."

25 July 2008 [\b]