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Gloucestershire Business News

On time and in budget: key bridge reopens

A £200,000 repair job on Gloucester's High Orchard Bridge has been completed as promised within a three-week deadline – much to the relief of businesses trading in Llanthony Road and the surrounding western side of the city.

The High Orchard bridge, which carries St Ann Way over the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, is the responsibility of the UK's largest waterway charity, Canal and River Trust and, as reported on September 16, its closure for the second time in a year, announced at short notice, left businesses in dismay as they braced for the impact of lost custom from the city centre.

Dave Akhurst, landlord of the High Orchard family pub and carvery, right next to the bridge, could mean an hour's delay on travel time and such work spelt lost table bookings.

The CRT reported, however, that the work had been vital.

 A spokesman said: "The lifespan of the road surface on the bridge had expired, and it required resurfacing to safely allow vehicles and cyclists to cross over the canal."

Experts from Kier removed the old road surface, made repairs to road plates and resurfaced the road with a specialist resin material, while the three-week blockage didn't exclude pedestrian traffic and the canal towpath also remained open. 

Boats below the height of five metres were also able to use the waterway below and, with the repairs now sorted, vessels above this height are able to navigate through the bridge when it is lifted.

Neil Owen, of the CRT, said: "We worked seven days a week to deliver [the repairs] quickly and minimise disruption. This follows the work undertaken by the Canal & River Trust earlier this year to make repairs to the bridge so it could be safely lifted for the ships entering Gloucester Docks for the Tall Ships Festival."

He added that the CRT was grateful for people's patience while the work took place and that the total cost for the charity came in at just over £200,000.

The CRT IN Gloucestershire also made national headlines last week after Punchline-Gloucester.com broke the news of its decision to sell an entire street of 24 houses  at action, with a guide price of £1.5m.

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