Workington MP disappointed at six month wait for new road bridge
Last updated at 14:42, Tuesday, 08 December 2009
Stranded residents living north of the River Derwent in Workington will have to wait at least six months for a road bridge.
People living in Seaton, Northside, Siddick and Barepot are currently forced to take a 45-minute detour to Workington town centre – a journey which would normally take them five minutes.
Yesterday’s announcement by Cumbria County Council that the bridge will not be open until at least next summer has stunned the communities as they will have to make the detour for several more months if they don’t use the train or temporary footbridge which opened yesterday.
The council is working on plans for the temporary road bridge, which is likely to be built where the condemned Calva Bridge is.
A council spokesman told the News & Star that at the moment the damage to the Calva Bridge cannot be assessed as underwater divers are unable to look at the foundations because of the bad weather. He said that only when the extent of the damage has been identified, will they be able to set up an action plan for work to be carried out and see what parts of the bridge, if any, are still useable.
“We want people in Workington to appreciate just how long it is going to be. The best place to have a road bridge is where there were bridges before and the obvious thing is to build where Calva Bridge was.
“We don’t yet know the extent of the damage of Calva Bridge and what bits are usable. If the foundations are still usable that would reduce the amount of work that we do.”
Local Government minister Rosie Winterton, in a News & Star webchat yesterday, said the county council would have to pay a total of £3m towards flood recovery work, which would include the new Workington bridge.
A council spokesman said that would come from council reserves. It must be paid before next March to trigger additional government funding, likely to run into tens of millions.
Workington MP Tony Cunningham said: “We are desperate for a bridge and need it up as quickly as we can but it has to be built safely. I am disappointed it is going to take that long.
“It is difficult for people living in the north and the south who have got friends and relatives on the other side.
“I will do everything I can to make sure that the bridge is up and running as soon as we can get it.”
Seaton councillor Joe Sandwith said that the community is handling things with “great difficulty” at the moment and the news that it will be at least six months for a road bridge to be open will not raise people’s spirits.
He said: “The footbridge has helped a little but this news is terrible, we have suffered long enough now. It is awful for people living [on the north] side of the river.”
And Mr Sandwith, who runs a roofing contracting business, said that the 45-minute detours are hitting his company with huge petrol bills, and with no short-term solution, things will just get worse.
“You have basically got to plan every day like a military operation. I started using the train the day after the bridge went down and that has been a help, but we just want things sorted out as soon as possible and hopefully the bridge can be brought forward.”
Barker Crossing footbridge opened yesterday morning after 200 soldiers worked around the clock to build the link between the two communities around 300 metres upstream from the Calva Bridge.
Although it took 10 days for the footbridge to be erected, the council spokesman stressed that building a road bridge was a much bigger job. If everything clicks into place, it would take a minimum of six months to erect a temporary bridge, he added.
“We appreciate it is very disappointing for people to hear, but this isn’t going to happen overnight. We want a bridge for the people of Workington as soon as possible - we are not holding anything back,” said the spokesman.
Engineers are working on designs for the bridge with Army engineers working alongside them.
First published at 11:24, Tuesday, 08 December 2009
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk
I cannot beleive the army cannot build a tempory bridge without all this bull---- about health and safety it has got to be built so lets get the job done and save a lot of heartbreak for all concerned,during the war getting accross a river happened in one night with tanks. Stan
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The journey time home from the South side of the River Derwent (Lillyhall) can take
The Construction of a temporary bridge should be treated as a huge priority.2hrs plus in the evening, obviously longer from further South. Has anbody thought of placing some toilets somewhere en-route?
2 Years to construct a permanent bridge is
a ridiculous timescale.
Posted by Don Moger on 15 December 2009 at 12:23