A bridge close to Carlisle that was washed away in the floods of 2005 will be officially re-opened on Wednesday, February 14.
Cumbria County Council chairman Alan Caine will officially open the new Newbiggin footbridge across the River Petteril close to junction 42 of the M6 at 11am. Journalists, photographers and film crews are welcome to attend.
The bridge was badly damaged, probably by being hit by a tree swept along in the swollen river during the severe flooding of 2005, only two years after the county council had worked with St Cuthbert's Without Parish Council to spend tens of thousands of pounds refurbishing the bridge and improving the nearby popular picnic area and car park.
Plans to reconstruct the original two arch masonry bridge after the flood damage had to be abandoned as its condition deteriorated further and the county council chose instead to use Carlisle-based construction firm Story to replace it with a brand new one.
The new footbridge is a single span steel and concrete structure. The steel parts have be made of special weathering steel like that used in the well-known Angel of the North sculpture so it will colour and blend in with the bridge abutments which have been made out of masonry salvaged from the original bridge.
The county council and its contractors have worked closely with St Cuthbert's without parish council and with the Environment Agency on the how and when to carry out the work while protecting the river.
Media enquiries to Justin Hawkins, Media Officer on 01228 606334
Ends
Further details of the ins and outs and the technical challenges of rebuilding the Newbiggin bridge are contained in a speech attached to this release.
Follow this link to view speech 1 by John Robinson (Client Services)