Road bridges cash call going out to Whitehall

The Department for Transport wrote to Worcester-shire County Council in April this year inviting bids for funding for bridge strengthening projects for 2007/08.

Now, the county's cabinet has agreed at a meeting last week to submit a £10.5m bid to the Government - a large amount of which would be spent on replacing the Abbey Bridge over the River Avon in Evesham and also the viaduct - expected to cost a total of £8m. A 7.5 tonne weight limit is being introduced over the structure in place in advance of any work taking place.

The refurbishment package also includes work to bridges over the River Severn at Upton-upon-Severn and Holt Fleet to the north of Worcester as well as over the River Teme at Tenbury Wells and on the New Stanford and Ham Bridges east of Tenbury Wells on the B4203 and B4204.

The works for the River Severn bridges totals some £1.1m and includes painting and repairs to the Holt Fleet bridge to avoid the need for an 18 tonne weight limit and a general refurbishment of the Upton bridge on the A4104.

Some £800,000 would be spent on the River Teme bridges, with extensive concrete repairs being carried out on the Teme Bridge at Tenbury Wells and minor repairs, re-painting and parapet replacement on the New Stanford and Ham bridges.

A further £0.5m would pay for extensive concrete repairs, parapet replacement and waterproofing works would also be carried out on the bridges carrying the A4103 to Bransford, A44 at Knightsford and A449 at Powick over the River Teme. Council officers say the structures lie on important routes and major disruptions would result through restrictions on their use, either through weight restrictions or traffic management measures.

The local authority has already received £860,000 towards the cost of bridge strengthening works on the A451 Stourport-on-Severn and A449 Powick New bridges. The latest bid is now expected to be submitted to the Govern-ment by the end of this month.