The construction work by Griffiths, Bristol City Council’s contractor, to stabilise Cumberland Road has been extended by up to three months following unavoidable delays in the project.

Having installed the concrete piling to hold the ground in place under the Chocolate Path and a section of the Harbour Railway, Griffiths has been working to rebuild the final sections of river wall but has struggled to gain access with the high spring tides.

Griffiths has also been working to install the approach slabs and reinstate the highway wall and railway wall. However, as they have uncovered the railway wall, workers found large sections of it had much more substantial foundations than documented, with large lumps of dense rock and concrete that needed to be excavated, which has slowed progress.

Once these works are complete, the Chocolate Path, heritage railway and the highway will be reinstated.

It had been hoped this would be in May, however, Griffiths is now working towards finishing the project by the end of July. 

It’s disappointing that the repairs will carry on into the summer when we had been expecting to reopen the Chocolate Path in the spring.

As with any complex engineering project, we can’t cut corners. Repairing our Victorian infrastructure often needs bespoke solutions, as in this case.

We’ll keep the pressure up to reopen the Chocolate Path as soon as possible and I’d like to thank everyone once again for bearing with us while we restore this important piece of our city’s harbourside infrastructure, as part of our ongoing multi-million-pound investment.

Councillor Don Alexander, Cabinet Member for Transport

Press release by Bristol City Council.