Avoid M4 during bridge demolition, drivers told

3 hours agoBeth Cruse

BBC Points West

BBC News, Bristol

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Drivers have been told avoid the M4 ahead of a major closure.

Terry Robinson, National Highways' engineering manager for structures in the South West, has urged motorists to follow official diversions as the road closes for 60 hours to allow a bridge over the motorway to be demolished.

The road will be closed between Junction 18 and 19 near Bristol from 19:00 GMT on Friday 21 March to 06:00 GMT on Monday 24 March.

One business owner who had been cut off by the closure of the A432 Badminton Road bridge told the BBC: "It's welcome that the bridge is coming down, it's just how long we've got to wait now."

Mr Robinson said that 88,000 vehicles a day used the M4, all of which would be diverted down smaller roads during the closure.

"If you can, avoid the area," he said. "If you are using the diversion routes please stick to the diversion routes.

"They are well-signed and they will be your quickest way of getting between Junction 18 and Junction 19."

He added that over the 60 hours of the closure, workers would be putting in place huge reinforcements to protect the motorway, including four shipping containers.

Six excavators would be used to take out sections of the sides of the bridge until it collapses in on itself.

Mr Robinson said it had been a "huge effort to get to this point", adding that National Highways had used unconventional methods to get the bridge ready in the expected three years - less than half the usual six or seven years it would ordinarily take to replace a similar bridge.

This weekend's work is expected to cost half a million pounds, with the total project coming in at around GBP20 million.

It was announced in 2023[1] that the bridge would be closing after cracks were noticed in the structure, cutting off a number of businesses from the rest of the city.

One of those affected was Shaun Young, manager at Heritage Sheds and Fencing.

He said revenues at the family-run business had dropped "40% overnight" after the closure.

He added that the business had been forced to start offering free deliveries at their own cost and criticised the lack of support they had been offered.

"There doesn't seem to have been any help for local businesses to survive," he said, adding that if the "nightmare" closure went on longer than expected he'd be forced to consider the long-term future of the company.

"If it carries on, I don't know what the future is going to hold," he said.

Responding to a query about these concerns from local businesses, Mr Robinson said: "We fully appreciate the disruption this has caused to the local economy and to everyone else but as a company safety is our first imperative.

"We closed the bridge for safety reasons so we are working as fast as we can to get that bridge reopened, traffic flowing again, and restore the business really to those properties."

References

1. ^ announced in 2023 (www.bbc.co.uk)