Urgent repairs needed at Shaldon Bridge

Overnight road closures at Shaldon Bridge will be needed over two evenings before the Christmas period to carry out essential repairs.

A lane closure has been in place on Shaldon Bridge over the past month as a precautionary safety measure after scour erosion was found to the base of four of the bridge columns.

Work has been ongoing with contractors creating protective collars for the columns and divers have been busy preparing the area ready for the installation of these protective measures.

The column which is in most urgent need of repair will have a collar fitted around it so that it can be backfilled with concrete - and it's this operation that needs a full road closure. As the repair involves working in water, the timing of the work is dependant on weather conditions and tides and will be decided nearer the time.

Repairs are being planned to be undertaken for two nights between Saturday 17 December and Friday 23 December. The overnight closures will be in place from 6:30pm to 7am. Pedestrian access will be maintained at all times.

The remaining columns will be repaired in the new year.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highway Management, said: “Dive inspections over the last few weeks have found that these repairs need to be carried out as a matter of urgency. The teams working on this will have a window of seven evenings depending on weather and tide conditions, but they’ll only need a closure for two nights. Every effort will be made to keep disruption to a minimum.”

Councillor Alistair Dewhirst, County Councillor representing Shaldon, said: “We are really sorry that this problem has occurred now, just before Christmas. Devon's Engineers have been working in freezing conditions and with frightening currents to maintain regular inspections of the bridge below water level. Everyone understands that safety comes first and this column clearly must be made safe as soon as possible.

“Due to tidal and working conditions the work has to start at 6:30pm - we understand that this is very inconvenient but pedestrian access will be maintained throughout the bridge closure. It is very unfortunate that a closure for two nights is needed but we can all be assured that Devon's Bridge Engineers will be working flat out to get the job done as quickly as possible.”

During the closure of Shaldon Bridge, the diversion route will be A379, B3199, A3022, A380, A381 and vice versa.