A major refurbishment of a bridge spanning the M5 near Gloucester is set to be completed this week – two months ahead of schedule.
As part of a sequence of safety schemes to repair a number of bridges along the motorway in Gloucestershire, National Highways and principal contractors MJ Church have removed the scaffolding on the Brookfield Road Bridge near junction 11.
The government-owned organisation said final waterproofing and surfacing was being completed ahead of reopening it for traffic and pedestrians this weekend.
The £5m refurbishment scheme, which started in January, had been expected to be fully closed until just before Christmas.
Mark Fox, National Highways’ South West head of scheme delivery, said: “We need to be especially diligent in any work involving our structures, the work is particularly complex, and I’m pleased to say the scheme has been managed fantastically start to finish by both ourselves and our supply chain who have ensured we have finished on schedule.”
The project follows major 18-month works to refurbish the 50-year-old bridges supporting the M5 junction 11 Golden Valley gyratory. That work finished in March, ahead of the Cheltenham Festival, while a scheme to repair the nearby Staverton Bridge over the M5 was completed in June.
National Highways and MJ Church will turn next to a £5.6m programme of work to repair the Bamfurlong Lane Bridge - also more than 50-years-old - between M5 junctions 11 and 10.
This project is scheduled to start on Monday November 7 and complete in December 2023, with the bridge set to be closed to motorists, pedestrians and cyclists while work is ongoing.
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Access will be maintained for residents and businesses on either side of the bridge and a local diversion route, agreed with Gloucestershire County Council, will be in place via the B4063.
Mr Fox added: “We appreciate roadworks can be frustrating, we’re aware that the council are installing a cycle route along a part of the diversion route and we advise people to plan ahead and allow a little extra time for their journeys while this essential work is carried out.
“And completing the Brookfield Road bridge work earlier than anticipated will certainly help to lessen disruption for local communities.”
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