Strawberry Line cycle route extended after bridge lifted over busy road
Volunteers lifted a bridge into place to complete the next section of the Strawberry Line, as ITV News' Ben McGrail reports
A new bridge has been lifted into place to complete the next section of a popular cycle path.
The 15m long bridge near Shepton Mallet's football ground provides a safe route over the B3136 as part of the Strawberry Line.
The 'Strawberry Line' was the nickname of the Cheddar Valley line, a Great Western Railway route that ran from Witham Junction to Yatton via Shepton Mallet, Wells and Cheddar until the late 1960s.
In recent decades, the line has been in the process of being transformed into a walking, cycling and disability-friendly route through north and mid Somerset.
The new bridge links Shepton Mallet with facilities to the west of the town, including playing fields and a skate park.
It also links the route out of Shepton Mallet towards Wells.
Mick Fletcher, chair of the Strawberry Line Society, said: "To see the bridge dropped in, to see the fact we're proving that volunteers can do so much - they've not just been clearing away the odd bramble, they've been doing the steelwork, they've been putting up shuttering."
Cllr Richard Wilkins, lead member for transport at Somerset Council, said: "Active travel is a priority for this council and the people here delivering it in the way they do is just brilliant."
Once completed, the Strawberry Line will provide a 30-mile traffic-free route between Clevedon and Shepton Mallet.
Eventually, it is hoped the line will form part of the larger Somerset Circle, a 76-mile traffic-free circuit which aims to link the north Somerset coast with Bristol, Bath, the Mendip Hills and Cheddar.