An overgrown path which will serve a new bridge is in a 'poor state' with fallen trees blocking the way and parts of it subsiding in mud slides, says a concerned resident.

The finishing touches are now underway on the Kepax Bridge in Worcester which will connect the east and west sides of the River Severn.

However, work may be needed to clear and improve the path on the St John's side of the river says a resident who has taken photos to highlight its poor condition.

A Worcestershire County Council spokesperson said the path would be cleared when the bridge came into use.PATH: The path near Kepax Bridge PATH: The path near Kepax Bridge (Image: Supplied) He said: "I wanted to draw attention to the current state of the riverside footpath running south from the west bank of the Kepax Bridge to Sabrina Bridge to enable walkers and cyclists the chance of completing the figure of eight route between the three walking/cycling bridges.

"The current state of the linking section is in a very poor state and needs to be improved to make it viable.

WILD: The path near Kepax Bridge on the St John's side of the River SevernWILD: The path near Kepax Bridge on the St John's side of the River Severn (Image: Supplied)

"The photos taken last Saturday hopefully will show some of the current issues, the path is in fairly poor condition and there are several places where trees have fallen across the path and should be removed.

"There is also one short section which is in need of repair where the path has slightly subsided towards the River and is quite slippery due to muddy conditions, this section needs a short retaining wall and a more robust surface applied to this section and a more gradual slope needs to be constructed to illuminate the current steep one.

SLIPPING: The path on the west side of the River Severn near the Kepax BridgeSLIPPING: The path on the west side of the River Severn near the Kepax Bridge (Image: Supplied)
"I don’t think it would cost that much to make the path more usable than it currently is. The current issues have been reported to the county council but I have not had a response so far.
So, until these issues are fixed the figure of eight route could only be traversed by using Hallow Road and Hylton Road, taking cyclists onto these busy roads , which is not ideal."

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New signs have gone up at the Kepax Bridge as landscaping, lighting and other final touches are made at Gheluvelt Park in Barbourne in Worcester ahead of the grand opening, due to take place by the end of the year.

The bridge will run from Gheluvelt Park in the east to the Kepax side in St John’s, to the west. When it opens, the bridge is intended to allow walkers and cyclists to enjoy a figure-of-eight route along the River Severn (from the Diglis bridge in the south to the recently refurbished Sabrina Bridge near the city centre to this new bridge in the north and back again)

A spokesperson for Worcestershire County Council, said: “The section of the riverside footpath that was closed to allow the works on Kepax Bridge to take place, will be cleared and reopened once the bridge comes into use.

“As part of the Kepax Bridge works a new cycle/footway has been installed to allow cyclists and pedestrians access to Hallow Road and beyond. This enable users to avoid the riverside footpath, which is not a cycleway and is liable to flooding."