Severn repairs
Page 7
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TRANSPORT Minister Lynda Chalker has announced the timetable for the major repairs to the Severn Bridge.
Contracts worth £18m are to be put out to tender this year, she said at a press conference last week.
Five major sections of work are being carried out this year, including new, large manholes on the bridge, as well as folding access guntries on the Wye Bridge and viaducts, strengthening of the piers and the box girders on the Aust viaduct, some resurfacing near the edge of the east-bound slow lane of the Wye Bridge, replacing of some Severn Bridge hangers, painting of cables, as well as routine surface patching.
A number of these works will require either overnight or weekend slow lane closures. For the various maintenance and repair work there will have to be some overnight, weekend and daytime off-peak lane closures at various times.
In 1986 and 1987, the hangers will be replaced on the bridge.
In 1988 and 1989 the whole crossing will be resurfaced for the first time since it opened in the Sixties and the expansion joints will be replaced as well.
About now, the introduction of narrow lane work will be introduced on the westbound carriageway of the Severn Bridge to enable the contactors to get experience of the planning of carriageway resurfacing. Mrs Chalker said she hoped it would also enable them to carry certain maintenance work without traffic disruption.
Mrs Chalker admitted that there would be some traffic disruption, but this year closures of single lanes would be limited to night time, off-peak day time and weekends.
Bank Holiday weekends would be avoided altogether and during June, July and August any closures will be at night time.
Transport Secretary Nicholas Ridley also gave the go-ahead for further studies into a second crossing.
The report by the consultants, W. S. Atkins and Partners and G. Maunsell and Partners has identified three potential corridors for a second crossing with three types of crossing possible.
Mr Ridley said that he had ruled out the possibility of a crossing just north of Avonmouth across the English Stones because of the extra costs involved.
The new studies, which will look at the possibility of a bridge crossing, or a driven tunnel or immersed tunnel will look at coatings, which so far, have not been carried out.
This phase of the study is expected to last about 12 months, with the final phase, which will involve final evaluation and appraisal of the options taking another nine months. So, no final decision is likely to be taken until the end of 1986 at the earliest or even the spring of 1987.