Six-month project to strengthen Western Bank bridge in Sheffield

Major improvement work is planned to strengthen a bridge on a major Sheffield city centre road.
Western Bank bridge, Sheffield. Photo: GoogleWestern Bank bridge, Sheffield. Photo: Google
Western Bank bridge, Sheffield. Photo: Google

The city council will begin a six-month project on Western Bank bridge, on the University of Sheffield campus, on Tuesday, March 29, as part of the Streets Ahead programme.

Night time lane closures will be in place for the first two weeks. After that, diversions onto the other side of the road will be in place throughout, depending on which side of the bridge is being worked on.

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The bridge will never be fully closed. Most of the work will take place from the underside of the bridge, but lane closures are needed when work is being done on the structure to reduce its weight.

The council’s cabinet member for environment and transport Terry Fox said: “Many of the bridges across the city need to be strengthened and repaired to ensure that they remain safe for the public to use. We know that the works on Western Bank bridge may cause some disruption but we would ask that the public understand why we need to carry out these vital repairs.”

Streets Ahead structures manager Andrew Harley added: “It’s important that we carry out works on the bridge now to undertake much needed concrete and steelwork repairs to maintain the bridge’s integrity and ensure it is safe for the future.

“The bridge will benefit from critical concrete repairs to the underside, new bearings, full waterproof system and repairs to leaking drainage within the bridge.”

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He added: “We are aware that this is a busy route which intersects the University of Sheffield’s city campus and we are working very closely with the university in order to ensure that disruption is kept to a minimum throughout the works.”