Road to close for crash-damaged railway bridge repairs

The repairs to the iron girder and brick railway bridge will close a stretch of Grange Road

Repairs to a heritage railway bridge, put out of action after it was struck by a vehicle, are set to close a stretch of road in Dorset.

Swanage Railway said trains had been unable to run over Grange Road bridge, near Wareham, to the River Frome since it was was damaged in August.

Work to the iron girder and brick bridge will see a short section of road closed to traffic between Stoborough Heath and Creech Bottom.

The road closure is set to be in place for five days from 7 April.

The work to the bridge means the road underneath, Grange Road, will be closed to traffic for five days from 7 April

Diversions for traffic heading south will be via the Stoborough end of Wareham bypass, Corfe Castle, Church Knowle and Steeple.

Traffic heading north will be diverted via Steeple, Church Knowle, Corfe Castle and the Stoborough end of the Wareham bypass.

Swanage Railway said once the bridge repairs were completed its engineering trains, special event trains and trains running to Swanage Railway, from the main line at Worgret Junction, would be able to cross the bridge again.

Swanage Railway said the last British Rail passenger train from Swanage and Corfe Castle to the main line at Wareham ran over the Grange Road bridge on 1 January 1972.

The bridge carried the last ball clay train from Furzebrook to the main line in 1992 and the last Wytch Farm gas train from Furzebrook to the main line in 2005.

In 2014, the Swanage Railway took over the three-mile section of track from half a mile east of Furzebrook to a quarter of a mile short of the Worgret Junction with the main London to Weymouth line from Network Rail.