Major Bridge Improvements Go Ahead

11.37.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 25th Jul 2007

A major upgrade of the H9 canal bridges at Simpson has been given the go-ahead by the Council's Liberal Democrat cabinet, which has agreed to a £1 million plus programme of strengthening works on the two bridges which support the dual carriageway, to bring them up to modern standards.

The parapet railings on the top of the bridge will also be upgraded to deal with modern traffic moving at dual carriageway speeds.

Work will start at the end of August, on a 60-metre stretch of bridge starting from the junction with Newport Road to the junction with Marshworth. The project is expected to take about seven months to complete.

Attempting to work on the bridge while it was still open to restricted traffic would increase the risk of an accident to the public or workforce, and would also mean the project would take longer to complete, so the road will be closed for the duration of the works.

Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Williams, cabinet member responsible for transport, said: "The bridges are still adequate to support the dual carriageway above, and capable of carrying vehicles up to 40 tonnes. But our tests have show that the bridge does need refurbishment We looked at ways of doing the work without closing the road, but realistically, for safety reasons, it was not possible. We will be signposting alternative routes, and we would ask motorists to bear with us - we do need to do this work."

Once these works have been completed, both of the main bridges on the H9 grid road crossing the River Ouzel and the Grand Union Canal will have been upgraded to current standards.