News / Transport
Prince St Bridge ‘won’t reopen until summer’
The closure of Prince Street Bridge, which has been blamed for contributing to some of the worst city centre congestion in years, has been extended until next summer, according to a city councillor.
The swing bridge was due to reopen in April 2016 after closing in August this year for emergency repairs after it was found to be heavily corroded.
The city council said the extent of the damage is now worse than first thought and the work is going to take longer than originally anticipated – but an end date is still “not certain”.
Conservative Party councillor Richard Eddy said he had been informed through the Harbourside Forum that the bridge is unlikely to open until July “at the earliest”.
“This is bound to be a grave concern to road users and others,” he said.
He said he would be raising the delays with the mayor at a meeting of full council next Tuesday.
He added: “I am aware that, in the past, there have been calls for this bridge to be permanently closed to road traffic. I hope this delay is not part of some convoluted plot to achieve this end?”
The council’s transport boss Peter Mann dismissed claims the bridge would be closed permanently.
He said: “Unfortunately the Prince Street Bridge work is going to take longer than originally anticipated.
“When we started the work the exact extent of it was only an estimation and until we exposed the hidden internal structure it was impossible to see the extent of the bridge’s corrosion.
He added: “There are no plans to close the bridge permanently, but we must ensure that this historic bridge is repaired for the safety of the public.
“While there may be some short term inconvenience, all the works currently taking place in the city will provide long term benefits by making the highway network more resilient.”
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