Fans raise concerns over historical bridge footfall

Fans at the Everton test event had to follow a stop-go system over the Bascule Bridge

Football fans have raised concerns about the weight capacity of an historical bridge near a new stadium but the bridge's owners have moved to ease their fears.

About 25,000 supporters were in attendance at Everton's new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock in Liverpool last Sunday for the second of three test events to make sure the Toffees' new 52,888 capacity home is ready for the new season.

Some fans have since raised concerns on social media about getting over the Bascule Bridge on Regent Road, declaring a stop-go system which was put in place as "farcical".

Peel Waters, which owns the bridge, said an HGV load assessment of the highway section of the bridge had been carried out, confirming that it "complies with the normal highways HGV tonnage."

The fixture was held at half capacity, with an evacuation taking place just after an hour's play to allow Everton to secure the relevant safety licences.

To manage the flow of supporters, a stop-go system was in place around the bridge, prompting some to question if it could handle the weight of the expected foot traffic.

One fan said "the bottleneck" at the bridge following the evacuation was "comical, with a marshal sat in an umpire chair instructing 'stop' n 'go'".

They said that this would be farcical with 53,000 supporters, adding: "Please sort it."

Another fan said they were concerned about the weight capacity of the Bascule Bridge as many supporters "wanted to walk to town to avoid Sandhills and were met with the stop go system".

"Today was only 60% capacity in decent weather," they added.

Built in 1932, the structure was the subject of a £600,000 restoration project funded by Liverpool Council, opening up again in May 2013, after Peel and the local authority sought to improve the existing bridge rather than replace it.

A spokesperson for Peel Waters told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the company was part of the transport working group, chaired by Everton FC, which included local authority stakeholders to resolve any issues around the stadium.

When asked if any concerns had been raised directly with Peel Waters about the bridge's effectiveness to deal with fans, they said: "No."