PART of Evesham was shut down on Sunday and into the early hours of Monday morning as a huge temporary footbridge was hoisted into place across the River Avon.

The 30 tonne steel pedestrian bridge was installed east of the town’s Abbey Bridge, which is currently being replaced, in order to speed up the work after it was revealed bad weather has delayed work by 12 weeks.

The 36-metre-long bridge was delivered in sections and constructed by Hochtief engineers on Waterside Road during Sunday (28/4) but took longer than expected to install resulting in the road still being closed until 10am on Monday.

The bridge was lowered into place at 1.30am on Monday.

Peter Blake, Worcestershire County Council's Head of Integrated Transport, said: “The installation of the temporary pedestrian bridge is good news for the people of Evesham and underlines our commitment to doing everything we can to help speed up this vital project whilst ensuring that pedestrians and cyclists continue to have access to the town throughout the scheme.

“Work to install the temporary bridge overran slightly into Monday morning and I'd like to thank motorists for their extra patience during rush hour.”
Work is taking place this week to complete access to the pedestrian bridge and it should be open to the public from Tuesday, May 7.
The delay in time to construct the bridge has led to concerns among local people.

Former district councillor and Evesham resident, Martin King, said: “One can only be pleased they are trying to recover some of the lost time.

“They couldn’t put the bridge up in time. It is concerning when something takes 20 percent longer than they think.

“It raises concerns if they can’t get that done what about the bridge?

“The disruption has already been horrendous. It’s faster to go on the bypass to get to Bengeworth from the town.”

Currently two way traffic is being maintain across the bridge and the ten week closure is now planned for September.