Posted on Tuesday 8th July 2025
A Victorian bridge in Burton is now open to traffic once more, after extensive strengthening works have been completed.
The site team has been working hard over the past few months to reinforce the 185-year-old structure.
The £500,000 works involved constructing a concrete saddle to span the bridge, to strengthen it and address issues that have occurred due to its age, which is well beyond the 120-year expected design life of a bridge.
The project also included waterproofing the bridge to reduce the risk of water causing further deterioration to the brick arch.
These repairs mean it can be fully reopened to two-way traffic, including full weight 44 tonne vehicles that have permitted access.
This work should make the bridge last up to 15 years, however, the only long-term solution is to build a new bridge, which could cost in the region of £30 million.
Peter Mason, Staffordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Strategic Highways said:
“As a local resident, I know the effect of the closure of the bridge has had on the local community. Highways crews have been working incredibly hard on this very complex project, and managed to overcome some unexpected issues to get the job completed.
“Although works have finished, this isn’t the end of the issue. We’ve been very clear that the only permanent solution to this issue is a replacement bridge, and I will continue to put pressure on government to get the funds needed to make this happen. It is imperative that the focus remains on obtaining these funds quickly to minimise any future risks of further degradation and the restrictions that might bring."
During the works, monitoring equipment recorded movement of the structure to ensure that this was consistent with the designers’ expectations. Over twenty ‘targets’ were fixed to the arch brickwork so that changes in shape measured in fractions of a millimetre could be detected. Engineers will continue to monitor this after the bridge has opened, to see how traffic affects this issue.
Peter continued:
“During the works our monitoring equipment picked up that the structure is moving. Engineers will continue to monitor this as traffic uses the bridge. Our engineers are confident in the design of the concrete saddle protecting from excessive movement, but I want to be very clear – if we do see further movement and this becomes significant, we will have to look at the options open to us. We cannot totally rule out a further closure of the bridge in the coming years if this becomes a significant issue. The safety of our road uses is our primary concern. This is why we still need to move at pace to secure the necessary funding from central government and complete the bridge replacement at the earliest opportunity.”
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