Network Rail is thanking the community of Torbay, Devon, for their patience and understanding following the delayed reopening of the road over Torbay Road bridge.
Work to replace the life-expired bridge which provides a link for pedestrians and vehicles from the communities of Torbay and Paignton to cross over the railway via Torbay Road, was originally planned to be completed in March. However, supply chain issues and difficulties working around the existing BT cables pushed the completion date back to May.
Image from Network Rail
The bridge has reopened to two-way traffic and by 27th May a temporary pedestrian walkway on the south side of the bridge with protective barriers will open to allow pedestrians to cross the bridge. This will remain in place for the entire duration of the English Riviera Airshow in Torbay over the Jubilee weekend.
Following the Jubilee weekend, the temporary walkway will then close on the evening of Sunday 5 June to allow Network Rail’s contractors, Dyer & Butler, to install the new permanent walkways. During this time, a pedestrian diversion route will be in place.
From Monday evening, the bridge will be closed overnight to both traffic and pedestrians to allow Dyer & Butler to complete the construction of the bridge parapets and install the new permanent pedestrian walkways. The installation of the permanent walkways and construction of the bridge parapets is expected to be completed by the start of August.
Image from Network Rail
Stuart Calvert, Network Rail Capital Delivery Director, said: “I would like to firstly apologise for the delay in completing this work to replace Torbay Road bridge and extend our sincere thanks to the local community for their patience and understanding during this time, which we know has caused disruption for longer than anticipated.
“We pride ourselves on our punctuality and efficiency when undertaking complex projects such as this, however on this occasion we regrettably have not maintained these high standards owing to a number of unforeseen challenges which resulted in delays to the project. We’ll be working closely with our contractors to review the difficulties we faced, taking these lessons on board and working to ensure we don’t face similar issues in the future.”
Last week Network Rail reopened Cot Hill bridge in Plympton, Devon, following five months of essential maintenance and repair work. The century-old bridge was strengthened to allow for use by heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) with repairs made to the structure and a protective coat of paint added to the steelwork.
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