£4.6 million for temporary road bridge in Workington

Cumbria County Council selects Morgan Est for building contract.

Morgan Est has been selected by Cumbria County Council to build a new temporary road bridge across the River Derwent in Workington.

The temporary road crossing will replace the town's Northside bridge which was destroyed by floods last year.

Up to £4.6 million of funding provided by the Department for Transport (DfT) will pay for construction. Emergency capital highway maintenance funding from the DfT will pay for one of the two permanent road bridges in the town to be built over the next two years while the other will be paid for using insurance settlements.

The new two-lane, 350-tonne bridge will need an estimated 500 tonnes of concrete, with a further 900 tonnes of tarmac needed for the bridge surface and approach roads.

The duration of the project has been shortened by the county council working with consultant Capita Symonds to design the bridge and commission vital borehole and investigative ground excavation work before the contract was signed.

The new bridge, which will be situated around 200 metres east of the former Northside bridge, is scheduled to be open to traffic, including HGVs, pedestrians and cyclists, by 28 May.

Councillor Jim Buchanan, leader of Cumbria County Council, said: "We have been working on this project since the floods first hit - planning the best place to put the bridge, drawing up potential designs, surveying the geography of the area, working up traffic management plans and going through the tendering and procurement process."

"The temporary Workington bridge is a vital part of the jigsaw we're building to restore the transport infrastructure in west Cumbria."

Further information:
Cumbria County Council