New-look Eastham Bridge to reopen

The rebuilt Eastham Bridge will be opening later.

Reporters, photographers and film crews will be amongst the first people to travel across the new bridge, near Tenbury Wells.

Construction is still in progress and the scheme will be completely finished later this summer, however works have now reached a stage where we are able to open the bridge to traffic, under temporary signal control.

Jon Fraser, Highways Manager, said: "We are delighted that Eastham Bridge is re-opening. Everybody associated with the scheme has worked incredibly hard to get us to this position, and we are looking forward to the full completion of the project in the summer. I am sure the local community will welcome the reconnection of the village to the A443."

The Grade II listed Eastham Bridge in Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire, collapsed into the River Teme on 24 May 2016. Since then, work to rebuild the bridge has progressed well.

Work remaining on the project includes the fixing of vehicle restraint barriers to the parapet, the removal of temporary cofferdams from the river, and general site clearance and tidy-up.

Once open, the new Eastham Bridge will eliminate the need for the current 10-mile traffic detour.