Cleveland Bridge closure reminder

Residents and drivers are being reminded that Bath’s historic Cleveland Bridge closes on Monday 28 June for essential repairs.

The work on the Grade II* listed structure, which carries 17,000 vehicles a day, is needed to safeguard its future.

Motorists will not be able to use the bridge during the closure, but access will remain for pedestrians, cyclists and emergency services.

Contractors Dyer and Butler today confirmed they would meet the agreed June 28 closure date. Last week, following a routine meeting between contractors, one of the attendees subsequently tested positive for Covid-19 and work was stopped while staff were tested and areas of the site cleaned.

Councillor Manda Rigby, cabinet member for Transport said: “I want to thank the contractor for acting quickly to deal with the Covid incident. The safety of staff and the public is our priority.

“The closure, from Monday June 28, will allow the contractor to carry out major structural repairs which are essential for the bridge to continue to function safely and to preserve its heritage value. We do appreciate the closure is likely to cause disruption, but we don’t have any alternative.”

Diversion routes for Bath city centre and through traffic on the A36 via South Gloucestershire are available on the council’s  Cleveland Bridge webpage.

The £3.8 million project, funded through the Government’s Highways Challenge Fund, began in May with traffic filtered over the river crossing by temporary traffic lights as scaffolding is erected. Faults in the concrete structure have been identified by earlier structural surveys.

To enable the repairs to be carried out the bridge will close at one-minute past midnight on 28 June. It is anticipated the work could take around three months before the bridge reopens once again under temporary traffic lights.

Updates to the programme will be posted on  www.bathnes.gov.uk/clevelandbridge