News / Kingsweston
Historic footbridge set to return
A much loved 200-year-old listed footbridge which was removed for repair is set to return at last.
Kingsweston Iron Bridge is due to be lifted back into place on Tuesday but it will not be until July that a safe crossing point over a busy road between the Blaise Castle and Kingsweston estates will be able to reopen.
When the bridge was damaged by a lorry in November 2015 many feared that the one million pound repair bill would mean it could never be fixed.
is needed now More than ever
For years, the structure remained shrouded in scaffolding to stop it collapsing into the road, with tens of thousands of pounds spent on the scaffolding.
Meanwhile, locals kept up the pressure on Bristol City Council to prioritise repairs.
Locals protest below a scaffolded bridge in 2021 – photo: Richard Ganniclifft
The bridge has been painstakingly restored by Bedminster Down-based heritage contractors, Dorothea Restorations.
It has received several newly cast sections as well as cleaning and repair of its historic features.
The work has been complicated by the Grade II listed status of the structure and the need to raise the height of the bridge to keep it safe from future lorry strikes.
Works to raise the abutments supporting the bridge have meant that part of Kings Weston Road has been closed for several months, necessitating long diversions.
Other traffic delays including for roadworks in Falcondale Road happening at the same time have frustrated local commuters and made road travel in north Bristol very difficult.
Work to the stone abutments either side of the Kingsweston Iron Bridge started in January – photo: Martin Booth
Bridge campaigner Janet Poole has been a regular visitor to the works, chatting with the workmen and keeping the community informed via a campaigning Facebook page.
Poole is eager to see the bridge return and will be there to welcome it back on Tuesday.
She said: “After many years of campaigning I am delighted that after almost nine years we will soon be using the bridge once more.
“I have four grandchildren who are extremely excited about the prospect of crossing from one side to the other.”
Raising the bridge by a metre means that new steps will have to be built on either side – photo: Mary Milton
Kings Weston Road will not reopen until a few weeks after the bridge is returned and walkers will have to wait even longer before they can cross via the bridge via new steps.
An earlier version of the plans included ramps which would have made the bridge more accessible, but this plan was rejected by Historic England to the dismay of disability campaigners.
It is estimated that all the work will be complete in time for the bridge to reopen in July, when campaigners will be planning a welcome home celebration to mark the occasion.
Mary Milton is reporting on Sea Mills as part of Bristol24/7’s community reporter scheme, a project which aims to tell stories from areas of Bristol traditionally under-served by the mainstream media
Main photo: Richard Ganniclifft
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