Cleveland Bridge: No 'obvious fix' to repair Bath crossing

Repairs to Bath's Cleveland Bridge are being funded by a £3.5m grant from the Highways Maintenance Challenge Fund

There is no "obvious fix" to enable a 200-year-old bridge to fully re-open to traffic, a councillor says.

An 18-tonne weight limit has been imposed on Bath's Cleveland Bridge while ongoing repairs are carried out.

Bath and North East Somerset Council's Manda Rigby said the Grade II*-listed structure could not be fully reopened until more work had been carried out.

"The ongoing safety of users of the bridge and those living nearby is of overriding importance," she added.

The historic bridge, originally built for pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages, was carrying more than 17,000 vehicles a day - including HGVs - before the weight limit was put in place.

Investigations earlier this year found severe corrosion on the historic bridge

The current restrictions, which allow pedestrians, cyclists, cars and emergency vehicles to use the bridge, will remain in place until further notice after an engineering report set out "complex challenges" facing the repairs, said the council.

"Assessments have confirmed that the bridge can remain open using the current traffic arrangements.

"However, the issue is serious enough to risk structural failure of the bridge were it to reopen to all vehicles before repairs are carried out and if you read the latest report there is not an obvious fix to allow the bridge to reopen fully," said Ms Rigby.

Investigations found severe corrosion on the bridge earlier this year, with rusting on the hanger bars which support the main trusses.

The council said the bars were not commonly found in bridges and repairs which would allow it to fully reopen were proving a technical challenge without radically altering the structure.

Further investigations are now taking place in an attempt to agree the way forward, with the next update expected in May.