Nottingham A52 bridge closure: Repairs will continue for rest of year

Clifton Bridge is technically two bridges crossing the River Trent in Nottingham

A damaged bridge which has caused traffic chaos in Nottingham since it closed is unlikely to fully reopen for the rest of the year.

The closure of Clifton Bridge caused Nottingham to become the most congested city in the world on 10 February, according to sat-nav creator TomTom.

The bridge has since partially reopened but Highways England said fully reopening it could cause more damage.

It has asked people to allow extra time for their journeys.

The route, which is on the A52 and part of Nottingham's ring road, is used by tens of thousands of motorists every day.

"We feel the pain as well and we have family and friends living and working in Nottingham who have also been disrupted," said Catherine Brookes, regional director for Highways England.

"We know that nobody likes roadworks and we'd like to reassure people that we're aiming to get additional lanes back open as soon as we can."

Engineers are working in hollow boxes underneath the road

Beth Perry, a scientific officer for a lung cancer research company, took four hours and 15 minutes to get home on 10 February.

Her journeys between the Boots site in Beeston and her home in Radcliffe-on-Trent are still taking longer than usual.

"It takes me 45 minutes in the morning at the moment rather than 15 minutes," she said.

"Going home varies so much, I don't know what time I'll get home every night. It could be four hours again or just an hour."

Data from TomTom suggests that traffic around Nottingham is still more congested than it would normally be

Repair work has not started yet but a programme is "being drawn up", according to Highways England.

"Our teams are still working to assess the structure and indications show that a programme of repairs will likely see work continue under the road for the remainder of this year," said Ms Brookes.

"It's really important that we don't cause any further damage to the road or the structure in that process and we need to be methodical to avoid more disruptive roadworks in the future."

Highways England needs to repair corroded steel underneath the A52 Clifton Bridge

Clifton Bridge is technically two bridges over the River Trent. Highways England closed one of the bridges on 6 February after corroded steel was identified underneath the road.

Three of the four eastbound lanes are still closed because of the damage, and one of the four westbound lanes is now also closed to allow works access.