Coleridge bridge in Ottery St Mary will be dismantled and removed from site, starting from tomorrow (Wednesday 23 July), to enable repairs to be carried out.
The pedestrian and cycle bridge has been closed for safety reasons since December 2023, after it was struck by a falling tree, damaging the bridge deck and truss.
Structural investigations also found that extensive erosion of the west riverbank has started to undermine the central support foundations of the bridge. This support was not designed to be within the river channel, but the loss of the riverbank means that part of its foundation has now been exposed.
The repair scheme addresses both of these issues to ensure it will be safe to open to the public as well as future-proofing it in the event of further erosion if the River Otter continues to move west.
A temporary surface has been laid adjacent to the bridge to support a 1,550 tonne crane which is currently being erected on site. The crane will lift out both bridge spans, and these will leave site in four sections under police escort. Parking suspensions have been implemented along the access route to facilitate this.
Three of the four bridge sections will be repainted and resurfaced, while the damaged fourth section will be taken away for recycling and a new, replacement section made.
Work will also be carried out to protect the central support from erosion of the riverbank by installing a ring of sheet piles topped with concrete around the existing foundation. As this involves working in the river, extensive consultations have been undertaken with the Environment Agency over the past year to enable this to go ahead.
Councillor Dan Thomas, Cabinet Member for Highways, said:
“Everyone would have wanted this work to have got underway sooner, but there’s been a lot of discussions and planning with the Environment Agency in advance of getting on site to ensure environmental considerations have been factored into the work. We know how important this bridge is to the local community, and particularly local schoolchildren, so it’s good to see everything getting into place to start lifting the sections of bridge out. Unfortunately it’s not a case of simply replacing the structure, as teams will also be working to add greater protection to the foundations of the central bridge support. Public safety is always the priority and we want to ensure this bridge is better protected from the impact of riverbank erosion occurring on this stretch of the River Otter.”
Councillor Jess Bailey, County Councillor for the Otter Valley, said:
“I’m delighted we have reached this major milestone in the re-instatement of Coleridge Bridge. The footbridge is an absolutely vital link for residents of Ottery St Mary and students of the Kings School. I have liaised closely with the engineering team at DCC throughout. They have worked incredibly hard on this complex project. I’m really optimistic that the bridge will be opened in September which will be excellent news.”
The bridge sections are expected to be brought back to site in September along with the crane to lift them into place.
The reopening of Coleridge Bridge to members of the public is anticipated to follow in the days shortly afterwards and the land around Coleridge Bridge will return to its previous form.