Bristol commuters face 'annoyance' due to bridge repairs

Gaol Ferry Bridge has been closed since last summer

Commuters face more annoyance after the Goal Ferry Bridge is fixed, a Bristol City councillor has warned.

The bridge, which connects Southville with Wapping Wharf, has been shut since last summer.

It is due to reopen this spring but at least five more bridges are now scheduled for works, Labour councillor Don Alexander said.

The cabinet member for transport said the bridges would be forced to close anyway if works were not carried out.

Mr Alexander warned the programme of repairs would be "very technical," the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Addressing Bristol City Council's growth and regeneration scrutiny commission last month, he said: "These are sources of annoyance for people that we're closing them but actually they would have closed anyway unless we did this.

"They are very, very technical and major pieces of engineering where you really don't know what you've got to do until you take it apart because they're unique."

Bridges due for upgrades include Bath Bridge roundabout, the Bedminster Bridge roundabout, the Vauxhall Bridge and the Langton Street Bridge - otherwise known as the Banana Bridge.

The Avon Bridge in Brislington will also need major repairs or replacement in the longer term.

Works to the Redcliffe Bascule Bridge have been ongoing for months and it is still now only partially reopened.

Elsewhere, work to repair the Kingsweston Iron Bridge in Sea Mills will finally begin next year - almost a decade after a lorry crashed into it.

The council will dismantle the bridge connecting Kings Weston Estate and Blaise Castle Estate, repair it and then install it at a raised height to avoid another crash.

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