County council reveals when town’s bridge will be closed for repairs
The bridge will be closed from 7pm on Thursday Picture: James Bass - Credit: Eastern Daily Press © 2015
The malfunctioning Haven Bridge in Great Yarmouth will be closed to traffic from 7pm on Monday to allow engineers to carry out essential repairs.
As part of the process the bridge will be lifted at 8pm to allow TS Lord Nelson, which had been left stranded by last week’s major malfunction after heading from Norwich, and other vessels to pass through.
From 9pm the bridge will then close to river traffic as engineers carry on working.
During the road closure diversions will be in place from 7pm and there will be a shuttle bus service for pedestrians.
The operation is being led by Norfolk County Council, which also revealed it was looking into a long-term solution to the problematic bridge.
The county council says all attempts will be made to lift and close the bridge successfully in time for Tuesday’s morning rush hour.
However the council says in a worse case scenario it could take up to 48 hours to manually close the bridge and reopen the road.
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A statement from the council said: “We will make absolutely every effort to avoid this but if required the road closure and diversion arrangements would be extended.
“We will continue to be in constant contact with the owner of the TS Lord Nelson and local boat yards to keep them up to date with the latest developments.
“We know how important this crossing is for traffic in the town and how costly and frustrating delays can be. This is a key reason we have been working so hard to push the Third River Crossing project forward which will help to ease traffic congestion and support the local economy.
“And alongside the efforts to fix the current problems with Haven Bridge we are looking at future improvements for the crossing which is now over 90 years old and have already commissioned reports to look at the best long-term solutions and possible funding sources.”
Haven Bridge is owned by Norfolk County Council and maintained/operated on their behalf by Peel Ports.
It malfunctioned on Thursday, June 21 leading to major traffic snarl-ups.
It also prevented the former Norwich Sea Cadets naval base TS Lord Nelson making her way to her new home in Suffolk, where she will be turned into a community cafe.
