Merafield Bridge demolition defended after Plymouth and Portsmouth fans face delays

Highways England have defended the demolition of a bridge which caused hours of delays for football fans in Plymouth.

The old Merafield bridge over the A38 at Plympton was demolished overnight on Saturday but Sunday's play-off semi-final at Home Park was disrupted after the work over-ran.

A new bridge built alongside it was opened two weeks ago in the final stage of a £6.3 million maintenance project on the A38 - part of the government's £15 billion upgrade to motorways and major A-roads.

South West Regional Director Andrew Page-Dove defended the demolition works saying:

50 kgs of explosives were used to destroy the Merafield Bridge with the new 80-metre long concrete bridge built with 2500 tonnes of concrete and 400 tonnes of steel.

Pictures from Highways England

The old bridge was suffering from alkali silica reaction, commonly known as 'concrete cancer' and needed replacing because it would eventually become unsafe, according to Highways England.

The work over-ran into Sunday afternoon because parts of the old bridge were not fully broken up in the demolition and still had to be removed.

Highways England also said the work had been timed to avoid disruption during the South West’s busy holiday season and would be fully completed by July.

Remaining work will include clearing away the debris from the demolished structure, completing drainage on Merafield Road, finishing works on the new bridge and reinstating the road markings on the A38.

Transport Minister Andrew Jones said: