Bristol mayor denies years of 'chaos' as bridges need urgent repairs

Gaol Ferry Bridge in Bristol is due to open in September

Bristol's mayor has denied commuters face years of "chaos" as bridges over the New Cut need urgent repairs.

Marvin Rees, who has run the city for seven years, said he "inherited years of neglect" but has now set out a £16m programme of repair works.

The repairs could take five years to complete although Bristol City Council chiefs warned a fixed timescale was difficult to estimate,

The council say they are still unaware of the extent of the works needed.

Gaol Ferry bridge was closed in August last year, and is due to open in September.

But the works have been hit by months of delays.

The footbridge, a major commuter route connecting Southville to Wapping Wharf, was initially due to shut last June for six to nine months.

Its closure has left many independent businesses in Wapping Wharf struggling, with some traders saying regular customers have gone to North Street instead to avoid the diversion.

Costs were initially estimated at £1m but have now increased by 50 per cent to at least £1.5m.

'Neglected'

Vauxhall footbridge, Bedminster bridge roundabout, the Banana footbridge, Bath bridge roundabout and Sparke Evans footbridge will all soon see major repair works.

Sparke Evans footbridge will be closed to commuters in the near future, while works take place.

The New Brislington Bridge and St Phillips Causeway also need urgent inspections.

During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, 6 June, Mr Rees said: : "Bristol has 45 walkable bridges that span our main waterways. But over the years many of these bridges have been neglected, and we inherited a legacy of underinvestment in some of the city's fundamental infrastructure, that goes often underappreciated until it's no longer available."

Gaol Ferry Bridge is one of 45 walkable river crossings in Bristol

A provisional programme, set out in a recent cabinet report, estimated the works to repair the bridges could take five years and cost £16m, with money coming from the City Regional Sustainable Transport Settlement from the Department for Transport.

Councillor Don Alexander, cabinet member for transport, said: "Given that there are lots of high risk things, as with Gaol Ferry bridge, for many of these structures we do not know how long they will take to fix often until we actually open them up, because we just cannot see from the outside what the nature of the degradation of the structure is."