Hampshire County Council confirms C10 Station Road at Holmsley scheduled to reopen on Friday after bird nest is removed
A MAIN road which runs under the A35 at Holmsley is set to reopen this Friday after nesting birds delayed the completion of improvement work.
As reported in the A&T the A35 was closed for months as contractors for Hampshire County Council carried out a £5.5m project on the 114-year-old structure.
Although the A35 reopened in April, the C10 road, which runs underneath the bridge, remained shut after the discovery of a sparrow's nest close to an overhanging temporary support on the west side of the bridge.
It is illegal to take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is in use or being built, meaning the council was forced to wait until the chicks had fledged.
Confirming the reopening a spokesperson for the council said: "Following the ecologist’s advice that it was now possible to remove the bird nest, the contractor was able to remove the temporary platform overhanging the C10 Station Road and the outstanding work on the west side of the bridge could be completed this week, with the re-surfacing work then able to be carried out ahead of the reopening on 8th July."
The council's cabinet member for transport and environment, Cllr Edward Heron, added: "It has been a highly complex project to replace this 114-year-old rail bridge, situated in the heart of the national park and I extend my thanks to our engineering team and our contractors Knights Brown for completing this scheme before the start of the busy tourist season.
"I must also extend my thanks for the patience of our partners, the local residents, businesses and the travelling public who have navigated the necessary traffic management and road closures."
He added: "The new single span concrete bridge will minimise future maintenance costs and, as part of the scheme, a 380 metre section of the A35 carriageway has been realigned and resurfaced with improved surface water drainage. This will ensure safer travel on this key route through the New Forest."
To avoid further unnecessary closures of the junction of the A35 and the C10 Station Road in the future the council has requested that additional lengths of the C10 will be resurfaced from today (Monday).
The Old Station Tea Rooms will be open for business as usual, HCC confirmed, and the existing signed diversion route for Station Road will remain in place.
There will also be lane closures on the A35 for one day during off-peak times to allow removal of signs.
