A £10.5 million footbridge in Newport is to finally open several months later than planned. The 500-tonne bridge connecting Queensway to Devon Place beside Newport train station will open on Monday, April 17.
Leader of Newport City Council Jane Mudd will officially open the bridge on Monday morning alongside deputy minister for climate change Lee Waters and students from local schools in a move presented as a step forward in the city’s plans to become greener and more sustainable.
The new pedestrian link, which will replace the vandalism-prone subway which has been blighted by drugs and anti-social behaviour issues in recent years, was officially installed on Christmas Day 2021 which saw the station closed for two days. Plans were in place to open the bridge last year, but the council delayed its opening due to supply chain issues in improving the public area surrounding the bridge on the Queensway side.
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In November a spokesman for the council said: "Work on the bridge itself is almost complete. However we are experiencing some supply chain issues with materials we need to complete the public realm on the Queensway side of the bridge, issues which have delayed the opening of the bridge.
"We are continuing to work with the contractor on an opening date for the bridge. While we are not able to give a firm opening date at this moment we are looking at whether it is feasible for us to get enough of the public realm completed to allow us to open the bridge before the end of the year. This would involve us facilitating access to the bridge from the Queensway side while maintaining a construction compound area adjacent to this access point for the rest of the work to be completed.
"If this is not possible then the bridge will open in early 2023. We are keen to get the bridge open as soon as possible so that our residents can start benefiting from it and we appreciate their patience and understanding while we put the finishing touches on this important piece of infrastructure."
Plans to put the construction work for the bridge out to tender were reported in 2019 after the Welsh government pledged £4m to the project in 2014. The £10.5m budget was presented to the Welsh government in January 2021 and in 2020 the plans were given the green light.
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