Avonmouth motorway bridge celebrates 50 years with 'unseen works'

The M5 Avonmouth Bridge is celebrating 50 years of providing a gateway to the South West

The future of a motorway bridge is being secured for generations to come with a series of welding works as it celebrates its 50 anniversary.

Work on the underside of the M5 Avonmouth Bridge, near Bristol, is being completed by National Highways.

The original six-lane bridge was designed by Freeman Fox & Partners and built over five years with construction starting in 1969.

The bridge eventually opened to traffic on 24 May 1974.

Fifty years on and the bridge, along with the nearby Wynhol Viaduct which is one year older, continues to be a gateway to the South West, carrying an average of 125,000 vehicles per day.

The bridge was strengthened and widened to eight lanes between 1996 and 2001.

As part of a "robust inspection and maintenance regime", teams from National Highways have been carrying out extensive welding within the structure since October.

A further £160,000 of welding work has just started and is expected to last for about two months.

The Avonmouth Bridge was constructed over the River Avon in the early 1970s

The structure measures 0.9 of a mile (1,448m) in total length and 40m (131 ft) wide with a ground clearance of 30.5m (100 ft).

National Highways' Specialist Bridges Inspection and Maintenance (SBIM) team is in charge of the bridge's upkeep.

Senior inspection assurance manager for the SBIM team, Shane Stephens, said: "Like all the infrastructure across the strategic road network, the Avonmouth bridge requires plenty of TLC.

"It is a real feat of engineering, and as current custodians, we take a lot of pride in our work as we move into the next 50 years of its life."

The bridge was strengthened and widened to eight lanes between 1996 and 2001

Paula Hewitt, chair of the South West Infrastructure Partnership, added that the Avonmouth Bridge is not only "an iconic piece of infrastructure but is so important for connectivity in the South West".

"Looking after our critical infrastructure to ensure it can meet the future needs of the region is essential," she said.

"It is great to see National Highways investing in the bridge's maintenance to ensure it is able to meet our future needs."