Skip to main content

Bridge replacement funding approved

The UK government has confirmed the funding to build a replacement for Northside Road Bridge in Workington, which was destroyed in the floods of November, 2009. Local Transport Minister Norman Baker said that the Department for Transport will provide £11.17 million (e13.25 million) towards the new permanent crossing of the River Derwent in County Cumbria. The council’s Cabinet last month approved Birse Civils, part of the Balfour Beatty Group, as the preferred contractor to build the new bridge.
May 10, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
An artist's impression of how the new Northside Road Bridge may look
The UK government has confirmed the funding to build a replacement for Northside Road Bridge in Workington, which was destroyed in the floods of November, 2009.

Local Transport Minister Norman Baker said that the 5432 Department for Transport will provide £11.17 million (€13.25 million) towards the new permanent crossing of the River Derwent in County Cumbria.

The council’s Cabinet last month approved 1486 Birse Civils, part of the 1146 Balfour Beatty Group, as the preferred contractor to build the new bridge.

The construction programme is scheduled to take 45 weeks and the new bridge will span 152m over the river.

The new steel bridge beams will be positioned into place around five months into the project with the three-span structure supported on concrete piers and clad in sandstone, similar to that used on the original bridge (where possible reclaimed stone from the original structure will be used). It will carry vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists on a similar alignment to the previous bridge.

Associated works include service diversions, retaining walls and roadworks to connect the new bridge to Workington's existing road network.

The new bridge has already secured planning permission and the design has been shaped and supported by local people.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Portsmouth bridge gets cash boost
    December 17, 2012
    Major improvements are planned to tackle a traffic bottleneck on the Northern Road Bridge in Portsmouth, on the English south coast, after the government pledged €13.73 million [£11 million] for the project. The Department for Transport has given final approval to the scheme which will see work on a replacement bridge over the Portsmouth to London railway line at Cosham. The original bridge was built to carry a dual carriageway road but is now too weak to do so. Traffic has been restricted to a single lane
  • Tunnels - an environmentally attractive option?
    February 21, 2012
    While tunnels are often more expensive than bridges, they can offer environmentally attractive options for transport schemes. Tunnels offer environmentally attractive options for a range of transport infrastructure schemes, but in many cases high construction costs may restrict their use.
  • Bridges in Sunderland and Poland are being slid into place
    February 6, 2017
    Sunderland sees a bridge slide into place and two bridges inch their way across a Polish highway Slowly but surely, a 2,500 tonne section of a new bridge deck was eased out from the banks of the River Wear near Sunderland in northern England. It now straddles the water, pointing towards the opposite bank which it will eventually reach after another sliding operation likely to take place next year. The project to build the New Wear Crossing is now halfway through with the first half of the steel deck b
  • LagoonHull still on the cards
    February 7, 2022
    A proposed major river development in Hull would include an immersed road tunnel to connect traffic arriving from Europe with the UK’s motorway network.