Residents of Staveley in Cumbria celebrated the opening of Britain’s newest bridge with a ribbon cutting and parade on Friday.

 

Cumbria County Council invested £500,000 in the new Staveley Bridge which replaces a former structure – Old Gowan Bridge – that was severely damaged by Storm Desmond at the end of 2015.

 

The scheme forms part of a £120M infrastructure recovery programme across the county following the floods.

 

“The loss of Old Gowan Bridge during Storm Desmond has had a significant impact on the local community and I would like to thank people for their patience and understanding during this difficult period,” commented Cumbria County Council assistant director of highways, transport and fleet Stephen Hall.

 

The new bridge has been designed to increase resilience by adopting a robust, mainly concrete construction, and by increasing the volume of water that can flow beneath.

 

“A huge amount of work has gone into the planning, design, construction and delivery of this project – over 8000 worker hours in total – and the new bridge looks superb,” Stephen Hall added.

 

The project was delivered by design and build contractor Thomas Armstrong. The bridge consists of a single span pre-stressed concrete beam deck made up of 10 individual beams that were craned into position and placed on newly constructed piled abutments.

 

Parapets and abutments have been faced with stone – some from the original structure – to ensure the new bridge’s appearance is in keeping with the surrounding area.