Corporation bridge in Grimsby: still no reopening date for motorists
It's a year since it was closed to vehicles
It is a year on since Corporation Road Bridge in Grimsby was closed to vehicles, and there is still no new reopening date for motorists.
On a visit to Doughty Road depot, North East Lincolnshire Council leader Cllr Philip Jackson said the council will be working as hard as possible to reopen as soon as it can. He also confirmed a survey report on the bridge’s state is expected by no later than the end of March. Only then can a new reopening date be given.
Restoration works began a year ago today, on February 6th. The bridge was originally anticipated to be shut for 11 months, until just before Christmas. The grit blasting of the bridge to reveal hidden steelwork showed that its beams were in a more “severe condition” than previously thought.
Its reopening was indefinitely delayed in October, until extra survey work is carried out to assess the level of extra repairs required. A number of footbridge closure days have followed, including at weekends, to take advantage of lower tide levels and get on with the assessment.
Asked for an update on when a reopening date can be expected, council leader Cllr Jackson said:
“I’m as keen to get that bridge reopened as anybody else, and I want to see that restored as part of our key road network in the town centre. We’re expecting some time during this quarter, quarter one of this year, to have a full assessment of exactly what additional work is required.” Quarter one covers up to the end of March.
“Until we have that, we won’t be able I’m afraid to be able to say exactly when it’s going to reopen.” Cllr Jackson highlighted issues along the way can be common with the restoration of historic, listed structures. “All sorts of unexpected things can happen, but we will be working as hard as we can to reopen the bridge as soon as we’re able.”
Given the longer repair runtime, and the more repairs required, the original near £5m cost of the project is also expected to rise. The council has set aside contingency cash to cover this. Corporation Bridge’s repairs have been funded by the Department for Transport, Local Transport Fund and the council.
Because of its Grade II* listed status and its ownership of it, the council is legally obliged to ensure it functions, including its lifting mechanism. Corporation Bridge has also been on the ‘at risk’ register for listed structures because of its deteriorating condition.
Survey work feedback has previously been expected in late January. Once it is in, the project team will produce a revised timetable for repairs.
Timeline of Corporation Bridge repairs:
February 2020 – Funding package for restoration of the bridge is announced. Detailed design work follows.
Monday, February 6, 2023 – Work begins on the restoration of the bridge. Bridge works specialists Spencer Group are contracted by the council and its delivery partner Equans.
Mid-August – First initial indications of potentially worse bridge condition emerge in works.
October 5, 2023 – Council announced it will not reopen in December to motorists anymore. This follows an initial closer inspection in preceding weeks that confirms the corroded steelwork. A more detailed assessment, of the whole bridge, is announced will take place.
Autumn to Present – Various weekend and weekday closures to pedestrians to allow for assessment at low tide levels, for public and worker safety reasons.
December 19, 2023 – Independents for North East Lincolnshire Cllrs Steve Holland and Lyndsey Downes called in the repairs project to the council’s economy scrutiny panel. Their calls for a special committee to review the project and lessons to learn are unsuccessful, but the panel does ask to review council governance for major projects.
February 6, 2024 – A year on since its closure to motorists, no new reopening date is yet known. However, the survey work report is expected in early 2024, and only then is a reopening date announcement is possible, once the bridge’s true state is known.