{"id":67084,"date":"2025-09-10T15:07:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T14:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/?p=67084"},"modified":"2025-09-15T13:40:46","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T12:40:46","slug":"major-plan-to-replace-deteriorating-120-year-old-bridge-near-cullompton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/major-plan-to-replace-deteriorating-120-year-old-bridge-near-cullompton\/","title":{"rendered":"Major plan to replace deteriorating 101-year-old bridge near Cullompton approved"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A<\/strong> major project to replace the deteriorating Baulk Bridge on the B3181 near Cullompton was greenlit today.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today (Wednesday September 10) members of the authority\u2019s cabinet gave the \u00a37.92 million scheme the thumbs up with construction expected to begin in spring 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once completed, the new bridge will safeguard a vital transport link between Exeter and Cullompton, which also serves as the diversion route for the M5 motorway, for at least the next 120 years <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Built in 1924, Baulk Bridge is one of Devon\u2019s oldest reinforced concrete bridges. Old concrete bridges are vulnerable to deterioration and reinforcement corrosion, and this has affected its structural integrity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Council engineers say that it is no longer economically viable to repair the bridge, and it may soon be closed permanently if it isn\u2019t replaced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new bridge will be constructed on a realigned section of the B3181, approximately 30 metres downstream of the existing structure bridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This approach allows the current road to remain open during much of the construction work, which will minimize disruption to the route which carries 5,000 vehicles a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project also includes 400 metres of improved pedestrian pathways, improved drainage, and upgrades to nearby ecological habitats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planning permission was secured in May 2025, following extensive consultation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final design includes flood relief culverts, habitat restoration and tree planting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Funding for the project will come from the council\u2019s Bridges and Structures Local Transport Capital Fund.<\/p>\n\n\n

\r\n\t
\r\n

Councillor Dan Thomas, our Cabinet Member for Highways said: <\/p><\/div>\r\n \t\t

\u201cThe new bridge will be built to modern standards with a 120-year design life, ensuring long-term viability for both local traffic and emergency motorway diversions.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce completed, the old Baulk Bridge and redundant road section will be demolished to improve flood conveyance along the River Culm.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new bridge will not only secure a critical transport corridor but also deliver environmental and safety benefits for the local area and region as a whole.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe aim for the tender process to begin at some point in the next few months, and we will look for a contractor that offers both technical competence and economic value.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\t<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\n\t
\r\n\t\t\"Councillor\r\n
\r\n Councillor Dan Thomas, Cabinet Member for Highways<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n <\/figure>\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":859,"featured_media":67087,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[986],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-roads-and-transport"],"acf":[],"featured_image":{"ID":67087,"title":"Copy of hero image for news website","alt":"Bramely Bridge","description":"","caption":"","url":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2025\/09\/Copy-of-hero-image-for-news-website.jpg","width":1200,"height":675,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2025\/09\/Copy-of-hero-image-for-news-website-400x270.jpg","thumbnail_width":400,"thumbnail_height":270,"medium":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2025\/09\/Copy-of-hero-image-for-news-website-600x338.jpg","medium_width":600,"medium_height":338,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2025\/09\/Copy-of-hero-image-for-news-website-768x432.jpg","medium_large_width":768,"medium_large_height":432,"large":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2025\/09\/Copy-of-hero-image-for-news-website-800x450.jpg","large_width":800,"large_height":450,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2025\/09\/Copy-of-hero-image-for-news-website.jpg","1536x1536_width":1200,"1536x1536_height":675,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2025\/09\/Copy-of-hero-image-for-news-website.jpg","2048x2048_width":1200,"2048x2048_height":675,"thumbnail_featured":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2025\/09\/Copy-of-hero-image-for-news-website-770x450.jpg","thumbnail_featured_width":770,"thumbnail_featured_height":450,"thumbnail_sidebar":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2025\/09\/Copy-of-hero-image-for-news-website-200x135.jpg","thumbnail_sidebar_width":200,"thumbnail_sidebar_height":135,"banner-block":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2025\/09\/Copy-of-hero-image-for-news-website-440x440.jpg","banner-block_width":440,"banner-block_height":440,"small-banner":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2025\/09\/Copy-of-hero-image-for-news-website-640x360.jpg","small-banner_width":640,"small-banner_height":360,"medium-banner":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2025\/09\/Copy-of-hero-image-for-news-website-1024x576.jpg","medium-banner_width":1024,"medium-banner_height":576,"small-thumb":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2025\/09\/Copy-of-hero-image-for-news-website-640x480.jpg","small-thumb_width":640,"small-thumb_height":480,"medium-thumb":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2025\/09\/Copy-of-hero-image-for-news-website-320x240.jpg","medium-thumb_width":320,"medium-thumb_height":240,"large-thumb":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2025\/09\/Copy-of-hero-image-for-news-website-420x315.jpg","large-thumb_width":420,"large-thumb_height":315,"slideshow-preview":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2025\/09\/Copy-of-hero-image-for-news-website-300x200.jpg","slideshow-preview_width":300,"slideshow-preview_height":200,"slideshow":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/146\/2025\/09\/Copy-of-hero-image-for-news-website-800x533.jpg","slideshow_width":800,"slideshow_height":533}},"category_priority":false,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":true,"date":"2027-09-10 12:55:15","action":"delete","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/859"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67084"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67127,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67084\/revisions\/67127"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}