Road and path under Holmsley bridge to close for inspection tomorrow
THE road beneath the worn out Holmsley Bridge will be shut on Friday (17th April) so inspectors can move in and assess the condition of the structure.
Station Road, near Burley, will be closed between 9.30am and 4pm for the visit, which Hampshire County Council said was part of its “ongoing maintenance programme”.
The footpath and bridleway beneath the bridge, which is set to be replaced over the next two years as part of a £5.5m road safety scheme project, will also be closed off.
Cllr Rob Humby, the council’s cabinet member for environment and transport, said: “Until this [bridge replacement] work takes place, inspections need to be carried out regularly to monitor the existing bridge’s condition.”
He stressed the engineers would take “appropriate precautions” amid the spread of Covid-19 and urged drivers to follow the diversion routes.
“Any increase in two-way traffic on these minor roads will lead to damage to the verges which are part of the protected environment of New Forest National Park,” Cllr Humby added.
As reported in the A&T, HCC’s proposal will swap the bridge with a brand new crossing.
The old bridge will be taken down after the new crossing has been constructed next to it, including a realignment of 380 metres of the A35.
The reinforced concrete bridge would be single-span, with the A35 6.5 metres wide at the crossing with 1.7-metre footways.
In its plan submitted to the National Park Authority, HCC conceded the bridge “is in a poor structural condition”, and the existing road alignment “does not currently meet driver visibility and safety standards”.
It revealed the bridge will be shut a number of times over the project’s duration – expected to be around 11 months in total – and there will be a number of road closures, although civic chiefs said they will try to avoid disruption to major local events, peak periods of traffic and summer months.
The scheme has not been without controversy; local councillor Kevin Whittle, a HGV driver, decried the fact it will necessitate several large laybys on the A35 and A337 being returned to vegetation in a land swap deal with the verderers. He said that could cause widespread traffic problems.
The original Holmsley Bridge was constructed in 1847 to carry the A35 over the Southampton to Dorchester railway. In 1908 upgrading works replaced the existing bridge with the current steel bridge. The rail line and adjacent Holmsley station were closed to passengers in 1964.
The rail line beneath the A35 was replaced with Station Road (the C10) in 1970 and the A35 has since continued to use the existing bridge over Station Road. The bridge came into the ownership of HCC in 2012.