Bath's Cleveland Bridge to be hit with further six months of restrictions

Traffic management is set to remain on Bath's Cleveland Bridge

Restrictions for people using Bath's Cleveland Bridge are set to remain for months due to "complex" engineering issues which have "no straight forward solution".

The historic bridge is currently restricted to one lane, with only pedestrians, cyclists and cars able to use it.

A further six months of restrictions has now been announced by Bath and North East Somerset Council amid ongoing repair works.

Cleveland Bridge was built in the 19th century and was designed for pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages. It now forms a key route through Bath city centre and is used by hundreds of vehicles every day.

The council began essential repairs last year and the bridge remains partially closed with only pedestrians, cyclists and cars allowed to use it.

Now the council has revealed traffic management will remain on the bridge for another six months - or until repair works are completed.

The authority says corrosion on the Grade-II listed bridge is so severe, reopening it fully would risk structure failure.

Cleveland Bridge was built in the 19th century and was designed for pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages.

Cabinet member for transport Manda Rigby said: “In January contractors unearthed a complex engineering and safety critical issue which reports show does not have a straight forward solution.

"Engineers need to be 100% certain any solution will not cause a structural failure on other sections of the bridge. This will take time to model and for this reason we are extending the temporary traffic regulation order for another six months.

"We had aimed to open the bridge to two-way car traffic during this period, but we have been informed by technical experts that this cannot be done safely."

Ukraine fundraiser at Bath’s Assembly Rooms hosted by Comedian James Acaster
Anger as sewage pollution 'killing wildlife' at popular wild swimming spot

Councillor Rigby added: “We are really sorry for the inconvenience to people and business nearby and for those using the bridge, but this is a technical issue that is clearly going to take more time to resolve. 

"Safety is our top priority and I therefore ask for people’s continued patience while we continue technical investigations into the next phase of work after we complete the phase we had agreed at the commencement of work."