August 6, 2021 11.18 am This story is over 30 months old

Lincoln Pelham Bridge opening delayed as more problems are uncovered

Disruption will continue for longer

The disruption caused by the closure of Pelham Bridge will now continue for an extra week due to problems with concrete and corroded streetlights.

The work to the 60-year-old bridge started on June 7 and was due to last for around 10 weeks, but engineers have said the road is in a worse state of repair than expected.

Extra repairs and expansion joint work has extended the overall scheme by around a week. Pelham Bridge will now reopen to traffic and pedestrians on the delayed date of Sunday, August 22.

Resurfacing work on Canwick Road, leading up to the bridge will also be complete, and will be in operation again from Monday, August 23.

The work to the bridge, opened by the Queen in 1958, will see it resurfaced and have its expansion joints replaced. Work to re-waterproof the bridge started in June.

A new barrier was also due to be installed between the footpath and the road on the bridge to keep pedestrians safe.

| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

To carry out the works, teams had to completely strip the bridge back, removing the kerbs, streetlights, paving slabs, road surface and scrape off the old waterproofing.

High-power water jets were used to break away old and substandard pieces of concrete on the bridge deck, in a process called hydro demolition. These areas were then repaired before the new waterproofing was applied.

During the works, northbound traffic has been diverted along the East West Link Road and Tentercroft Street to cross University Bridge and use Newland and Wigford Way to rejoin Melville Street. Southbound traffic has been directed vice versa. Drivers are advised to use the Lincoln Eastern Bypass, and other alternative routes, as much as possible.

It is also impacting on local bus routes. Stagecoach services are diverting via the University Bridge and CallConnect’s routes are also effected.

Senior bridge engineer, Richard Waters, said: “There have been a lot more concrete repairs to the bridge deck than we hoped for, and getting them all repaired pushed back the start of our waterproofing. We have also had to use a more complex expansion joint which requires extra work, and found some of the street lighting columns have corroded badly and need strengthening before they can be put back up.

“We couldn’t have known about the extent of these issues until we stripped back the bridge, but it shows how necessary these repairs were.”

Councillor Richard Davies, executive member for highways at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “I’d like to thank residents in Lincoln for their patience whilst we did these repairs on Pelham Bridge. I know the closure has caused disruption in the city, and I’m glad the end is now in sight.

“It’s a shame that the extra work required has extended the closure, but I’d rather we do the job right this time, and avoid us having to come back with a huge job like this for many years. We’ll also still be off the bridge well before the schools start back again in September.”