A Bristol city centre bridge is set to been closed for nearly two weeks later this month as major refurbishment work continues. Bristol City Council (BCC) said the Redcliffe Bascule Bridge will be closed between 9.30am and 3pm each day from July 17 to 28 for the finishing touches on the work that has been ongoing since last year.
While the bridge is closed, all road users including pedestrians and cyclists will need to follow the diversion route once again across Bristol Bridge. BCC said motorists who follow the signposted diversion they will not receive a fine for driving across Bristol Bridge.
The council said the refurbishment work at the bridge is nearly complete and it hopes to reopen it fully during the summer. The £3 million refurbishment, initially expected to take 10 weeks, meant the bridge was closed between August and November last year.
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The latest closure period is only expected to last 12 days. BCC say the contractor, Griffiths, will be testing repairs to the lifting mechanism, which allows the bascule span to be raised up for larger boats to pass through.
The bridge is due to be open to all road users from July 29, though the council says some scheduled bridge lifts will take place in August to train harbour staff on the new system. BCC expects the bridge to be fully open by the end of August, approximately one year after it began.
