Category: Walking

Work to restore Bristol’s iconic bridges along the New Cut will take another step forward on Monday 14 July with the start of construction work to repair Bath New Bridge, part of Bath Bridges roundabout on the A4 Bath Road.

This vital connection travelling towards Bristol Temple Meads and the city centre was found to need structural repairs when it was last inspected. Its repair forms part of the council’s £16 million New Cut bridges restoration programme that is restoring eight much loved and important crossings over five years. To date, three bridges have been repaired, three have works underway and two more yet to begin, with Bath New Bridge being the penultimate to see construction start. 

The work, which is expected to be completed by spring 2026, will include:

• Removing vegetation from the structure
• Replacing two expansion joints
• Repairing the parapets and concrete bridge deck
• Replacing the water proofing and resurfacing the road

Only one lane of the bridge can remain open while the repair work takes place, meaning significant delays are to be expected when heading into the city centre on the A4. Towards the end of the project there will need to be overnight closures so the whole width of the road can be resurfaced.

From 14 July York Road will reopen one-way travelling from Bath Bridges roundabout towards Bedminster Bridges roundabout. This is to allow the river bank stabilisation works to continue along York Road while keeping traffic moving throughout the Bath New Bridge works.

There will also be no right turn from St Luke’s Road or from Spring Street onto York Road and no left turn from Bath New Bridge onto Clarence Road. This will mean York Road and Clarence Road will act as a gyratory system.

Having reopened the spectacular looking Banana Bridge on 20 June, we are moving onto the next bridge in our ambitious programme to restore eight bridges along the New Cut.

Bath New Bridge is part of a major transport route into Bristol, so we’ve planned the works to keep disruption down as much as possible. However, because of the high volume of traffic travelling over the bridge, delays are to be expected, and I’d like to thank everyone once again for bearing with us while we work to safeguard the future of our bridges and these vital connections.

After many years of not having the funding to invest in Bristol’s infrastructure, it is good news that we can work in partnership with the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority to make sure our harbourside infrastructure is robust and remains in place for future generations.

Councillor Ed Plowden, Chair of the Transport and Connectivity Committee

The repair work is projected to cost around £1.5 million and is being funded by the Department for Transport’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, secured by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority.

Getting the basics right by fixing our region’s roads and bridges will lay the foundations for a better transport system overall for the West of England. Earlier this month, we secured £752 million for that next stage. That means that the West can get out of the slow lane on transport and start to catch up with other city-regions, with better buses, more trains, and mass transit – with trams and much more on the table.

Helen Godwin, the new Mayor of the West of England

It is part of a wider £16 million New Cut bridge restoration programme to repair eight bridges.

Find out more about at bristol.gov.uk/newcutbridges

Completed New Cut bridges restoration works

• Langton Street Bridge (Banana Bridge) repaired from 2024 to 2025
• New Brislington Bridge was repaired in 2024
• Gaol Ferry Bridge was repaired from 2022 to 2023

Ongoing restoration works

• Bathurst Swing Bridge closed in the spring of 2025 for up to 2 years
• Sparke Evans Park Bridge closed in October 2023 for up to 2 years
• Vauxhall Bridge closed in October 2023 for up to 3 years

Remaining New Cut bridges in the programme

• Bath New Bridge work starting from 14 July 2025
• Bedminster Bridge roundabout (twin bridges)

Press release by Bristol City Council.