Great Yarmouth's £120m Herring Bridge re-opens following technical fault

Road closure signs at Herring Bridge in March. Credit: ITV News Anglia
Herring Bridge suffered a number of delays to its construction - and those issues have continued in the weeks after it opened. Credit: ITV Anglia

A new £121 million bridge has re-opened after a week of disruption for drivers.

Herring Bridge in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, was shut on Thursday due to a technical fault - less than two months after it was first opened.

An issue with a sensor on the bridge's locking mechanism was preventing it from operating properly, but on Tuesday, Norfolk County Council said specialist engineers had rectified the fault.

As a result, the bascule bridge over the River Yare re-opened for drivers and pedestrians before rush hour.

The bridge was stuck in an upright position following the fault. Credit: ITV Anglia

Cllr Graham Plant, cabinet member for highways, transport and infrastructure, said: "We don’t anticipate any further issues but will continue to monitor the bridge’s performance closely as some initial teething troubles are to be expected on a structure of this complexity.

"We have an initial operation period and extended maintenance arrangements in the contract in place with the main contractors to ensure any such issues are completely ironed out before the bridge is fully handed over to the council.

"The current downtime has also provided us with an opportunity to carry out further planned tests and checks alongside the fault investigation to reduce the need for any further disruption in the future.

"Once again we apologise for any inconvenience caused by last week’s sudden closure and we hope everyone can now continue to enjoy the fantastic benefit this new bridge brings to our local transport network."

The bridge was shut last Thursday, after it appeared to get stuck in an upright position.

Faults with the bridge first became apparent when it closed on 3 February - just two days after it opened.

It was meant to open in the summer of 2023, however, delays prevented the bridge from opening until February 2024.

In February 2023, construction was halted when an unexploded Second World War bomb was discovered.

It forced 350 homes to be evacuated before an 'unplanned' detonation three days later.

  • Watch the moment when an undetonated Second World War bomb exploded in Great Yarmouth

More disruption ensued in July when river voles were thought to have been discovered, forcing construction to be halted for a second time.

While a “potential burrow” was identified, no voles were found, Norfolk County Council said.

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