Britain has almost 2400 council maintained road bridges which are sub standard and risk further deterioration if highway resource budgets are cut further, a leading transport group has warned.

 

The RAC Foundation says that 2375 structures over 1.5m in span are not fit to carry the heaviest vehicles on our roads. This number represents 3% of the estimated 71,000 local road bridges in Britain.

 

Many of these bridges have weight restrictions, others are subject to increased monitoring and some are said to be in programmes of managed decline.

 

Bringing all sub standard bridges up to an acceptable level would cost a total of £2.8Bn, the transport group estimates, an average of £40,000 per structure.

 

“Councils are doing their utmost to keep their structures inspected but where they find fault the price of repair can bust the hard pressed maintenance budget, said RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding. “We hope the Chancellor has this in mind as he completes his Spending Review calculations this month.”

 

He added that closure of the Hammersmith Flyover (pictured) to traffic four years ago due to deterioration was “a graphic illustration” of what could happen if national infrastructure is not adequately maintained.

 

Information about local bridge condition was collated from Freedom of Information requests and a survey carried out by the ADEPT National Bridges Group. Its chair Liz Kirkham said: “Our group works hard to support local authority bridge managers in maintaining these vital links in the highways network and is concerned that further reductions in available funding will only make their job more difficult.”

 

Chair of the UK Bridges Board Dana Skelley added: “The UK’s transport system relies on reliable safe interconnected networks. A strategic approach to prioritisation of investment across the whole asset base is needed, with defined objectives and committed funding.”

 

The Freight Transport Association's head of road network policy Malcolm Bingham said: "Our members are concerned about an apparent lack local highway funding for existing infrastructure, such as bridges. The freight and logistics industry needs reliable road networks and should not have to resort to delays and detours created when infrastructure in not adequately maintained."

 

A Local Government Association spokesman said: “Councils take all road safety extremely seriously and are also doing everything they can to keep traffic moving. However, they are caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand they are faced with a predicted 55% increase in traffic on local roads within a quarter of a century. On the other hand their core funding has been reduced by 40%.

 

"What is needed is realistic funding to maintain existing bridges and build new infrastructure and clarity from the Government about when and how they will get the money.”