In August 2022 Bristol City Council started a five-year £16 million programme to repair six historic bridges that span the New Cut of the River Avon.

Work so far has seen Gaol Ferry Bridge restored and reopened, and work starting on Sparke Evans Park Bridge, Vauxhall Bridge and Langton Street Bridge, also known as Banana Bridge.

The restoration work starts with the closure of each bridge and the removal of its decking to expose the structural elements. This is followed by grit blasting the paint off the structure to see the level of damage and corrosion.

Work to Vauxhall Bridge started in October 2023 and has so far seen the paint removed from the newer section of the link footbridge that goes over Cumberland Road. The structure and metal work were found to be in good condition, so it has been repainted and does not need any further work. Work has also started to replace the overhead crossbeams on the old part of the bridge.

Stripping back this Grade II listed original section of the bridge that crosses the New Cut has revealed that this older part of the bridge is in a much worse state of repair than was expected.

Investigations have uncovered severely corroded metalwork and extensive structural damage, thought to be caused by the overall age of the 124-year-old bridge and bomb damage in World War II.

The council has been working with its design consultants and Historic England to agree a plan for how to repair the bridge, as it will need to be done in separate phases so as not to put too much pressure on the structure and weaken it while elements are being repaired or replaced.

The extent of the repairs needed means the projected timeline of two years to restore Vauxhall Bridge is being extended by a further year and the budget of £3 million is likely to increase. This will be covered by the contingency funding for the overall project.

This news will come as a blow to all the residents and businesses in the area and everyone who uses Vauxhall Bridge.

It wasn’t until the decking and paint had been removed that we could fully see the level of damage and corrosion. It is really extensive and we are doing our utmost to save the bridge and restore it as quickly as we can.

People may suggest removing the bridge and building a new one. However, to do so would be to destroy a Grade II listed structure that has historic value, and it would not speed up the project. It would add more years and cost more money as we would need to start from scratch to design and approve it via planning, raise millions of pounds to fund it and plan its build.

Having considered it in the round, we feel that the best option is to continue with these works, albeit to a longer timescale than we foresaw or would have liked.

Councillor Ed Plowden, Chair of the Transport and Connectivity Committee

Work to Sparke Evans Park Bridge also started in October 2023, and has seen the steel lattice parapet replaced, paint removed from the towers either end of the bridge, and the north tower bearings repaired.

The detailed inspection of the structure of the bridge has shown it is also in a worse state than originally thought. More of the structure, such as the cross beams, will need to be repaired and the suspension cables that hold the suspension bridge in place are damaged and will either need to be repaired or replaced. This could mean it could take longer than the estimated two years to reopen the bridge, but everything is being done to keep the programme on track, including bringing forward repairs to the park access ramp.

Work to Langton Street Bridge (Banana Bridge) started in May 2024 and has included removing the decking and concrete base and carrying out masonry repairs ahead of work starting to cover the bridge to start grit blasting the paint off.

So far, the condition of the bridge is generally what had been expected, although investigations have revealed evidence of bomb damage due to World War II. However, the project remains on programme to take up to 18 months to repair.

The New Cut bridges programme is well underway but it can at times seem like the work is not progressing as fast as it could.

All these bridges are coming to the end of their working design lives, so need extensive and often complex phased repairs to restore them.

Before the structural repairs are done, it would be dangerous to add too much weight to the bridges, so all the work must be done in phases. This slows the overall project down and it is not feasible to reopen the bridges between each phase of work.

I know how important it is to complete these works as quickly as possible, and I’d like to thank you all for your continued patience while we work to safeguard these vital connections across the New Cut.

Councillor Plowden

The council is set to carry out detailed inspections of the two remaining bridges in the New Cut bridge restoration programme – Bedminster New Bridge and Bath New Bridge – to help plan in their repairs in the future.

The New Cut bridges programme of repairs is being funded from the UK Government’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, administered by the West of England Combined Authority.

To keep up to date on the works, go to www.bristol.gov.uk/newcutbridges.

The New Cut bridges programme is running alongside a five-year programme to stabilise New Cut river walls. To find out more go to bristol.gov.uk/newcutriverwalls.

Press release by Bristol City Council.