Bridge repairs will take many months

Engineers investigating the dramatic collapse of an historic Shropshire bridge are considering putting up a temporary bridge to ease access for residents and schoolchildren, council bosses said today.

The bridge in Sheinton, near Cressage, will have to be completely rebuilt after it fell into Hughley Brook at about 2pm yesterday. The rebuilding work could take until after next summer to complete.

See our photo gallery here

But John Williams, Shropshire County Council's bridge team leader, today said the temporary measures could be put in place in the meantime.

He said: "We are currently investigating the feasibility of providing a temporary bridge alongside the collapsed bridge. The supplier of the temporary bridge will be visiting the site later this morning to assess whether this is possible."

Workers had to flee to safety after cracks were spotted opening up and within 10 minutes the bridge had collapsed into the brook.

Residents and schoolchildren were left stranded on the Cressage side of the bridge and had to travel the long way round through Much Wenlock.

Chris Wroe, who lives near the bridge, said the collapse had caused major difficulties for residents today.

He said: "The people in Sheinton cannot get their children to school and have to go up to Much Wenlock so it's a problem. It is a very beautiful spot and we are concerned they do not put in an unappealing looking bridge because it is our heritage."

Because the two-pier bridge is listed, it will have to be redesigned in the same style, using the same type of materials, and listed building consent will have to be obtained.

The whole process is likely to take months and will need to be approved by the Environment Agency.

Contractors will then only have a five-month window of opportunity between May and September to get it rebuilt.

The bridge, which is believed to date from the 1830s, collapsed just two weeks after a £30,000 project to repair it began.

Mr Williams said the bridge had been more extensively damaged in September's floods than previously thought.

"The flooding in early September scoured out one side of one of the piers and the contractor was on site to fill it with concrete and put the foundation back in touch with the ground," he said.

"There were no cracks at all in the bridge yesterday to suggest it was in any difficulty and it's difficult to put a finger on any specific reason why it gave way.

"We're going into winter now and there is not a lot of time for it to be designed and approved before we get into next summer.

"It may not be possible to have it rebuilt by next summer, it's certainly not definite."

Diversions on the A458 Cressage to Much Wenlock road, A4169 Much Wenlock to Gleedon turn, then on to Sheinton, remain in place.