Pooley Bridge in Cumbria has a permanent new river crossing, nearly five years after Storm Desmond destroyed its 18th Century stone predecessor.

The new 39m long structure is made of stainless steel – said to be a UK first for a road bridge – and was opened to traffic on Friday. It has been designed with a single span to avoid the need for a pier in the river, to make the bridge more resilient to flooding.

Around 80t of stainless steel was used in the new structure, along with 2000t of concrete and 650m2 of locally sourced stone.

“I'm absolutely delighted that Pooley Bridge’s new bridge is officially open to the public,” said Cumbria County Council's cabinet member for highways and transport Keith Little. “The council has been working hard to repair the widespread damage to our highways following Storm Desmond and this is one of the last major projects.”

Barton & Pooley Bridge Parish Council chairman Miles MacInnes added: “Our community was split in two when we lost our 251 year old bridge to Storm Desmond. It's been a long five years and local businesses have suffered but we're really thrilled that the new bridge is finally open.”

 Main contractor Eric Wright Civil Engineering’s managing director Diane Bourne said: “It was really important that we built a new, modern bridge which would not only complement the local surroundings but which would ensure the communities either side of the River Eamont remained permanently connected for future generations to come.

“The new bridge is slender and exceptionally strong and is designed to be resilient to any future extreme weather conditions.”

Following the collapse of Pooley Bridge in December 2015 a temporary road bridge was installed, which opened the following March. Work started on a new road bridge in May 2019 and the main structure was lifted into place this April.

To watch a video telling the story of the making of the new bridge, click here.

* Elsewhere in Cumbria, over £12M has been provided by Government for an upgrade to the A595 at Grizebeck. A new 1km stretch of road will be built and work could start in summer 2022.

(Photograph: Cumbria County Council)