WP3846 - York's Bridge (Construction) - AWARD

Walsall Council is looking for a suitably qualified contractor to complete the construction of a new replacement York's Bridge on Norton Road, Pelsall, which spans the Wyrley and Essington Canal by the Fingerpost public house.

Background of the existing York's Bridge

The existing historic York's Bridge dates back to the mid 1800's. Its brick arch construction, poor alignments and lack of footways make it unsuitable for modern traffic and unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists. The bridge structure has suffered over recent decades and the bridge is currently the subject of a 10 tonne weight limit. If nothing is done the bridge will continue to weaken to the point where closure to all road traffic might have to be considered.

The Council has a statutory duty to maintain the safe and efficient operation of the public highway for use by a range of vehicles and is obliged to look at a range of options, including the strengthening of bridges which it does not own, (the existing bridge is owned by the Canal & River Trust), and the construction of new bridges.

Several options for addressing the problems at York's Bridge have been considered, including strengthening of the existing bridge. It has been concluded that only the construction of a new bridge can address all of the issues, whilst retaining the existing historic York's Bridge

The new York's Bridge

The construction of a new bridge aims to create a healthier and safer environment for people to walk and cycle and traffic moving through the area. The new bridge will be constructed to the east side of the existing bridge and to realign Norton Road to the east. The bridge is 40m long and will carry two-way traffic on a 7.3m wide carriageway with a 2m wide footway on the west side. There is 2m minimum headroom between the bridge and towpath and 3.1m minimum between the bridge and canal. A small amount (2,465m2) of common land is required in order to construct the new bridge which is less than 0.01% of the total common area.