Concerns over Bridgnorth's historic bridge to be taken to highway chiefs
Concerns about lorries and other heavy vehicles using Bridgnorth's historic bridge will be voiced to highway bosses by the town council amid fears over its condition.
Bridgnorth Town Council's clerk, Lee Jakeman, has been instructed to contact Shropshire Council's highways department to highlight councillors' concerns over the Severn Bridge following a meeting on Tuesday night.
Shropshire Council will also be asked when it last inspected the bridge.
If it hasn't been inspected in the last two years, the town council intends to ask highway chiefs for a condition check to be carried out.
The item was raised by Councillor Adrian Hinton, who had wanted the town council to agree to write to Shropshire Council to request a weight restriction is put in place.
During the meeting, he said: "The bridge certainly wasn't built to carry the weight of traffic it does now.
"If anything happens to that bridge there could be lives involved, there could be significant costs involved."
He said it was also difficult for lorries to pass one another and it has caused them to mount pavements.
But the Mayor of Bridgnorth, Councillor Ron Whittle, suggested the first step should be to contact Shropshire Council and ask for a condition check to be carried out on the bridge if one has not been done in the past two years.
Councillor Edward Marshall added: "We should be asking for a technical assessment of that bridge.
"They must by law have records."
Councillor David Cooper agreed that Shropshire Council should be asked when the bridge was last inspected.
He said: "They do have standards and procedures and we want to be assured that they are sticking to it."
He said the flow of traffic around the town also needed to be reviewed.
Shropshire Councillor William Parr, who represents Bridgnorth East and Astley Abbotts, has also previously raised the issue.
He says the stonework on the bridge has visibly deteriorated and he has also contacted the highways department.
Earlier this year residents said that a weight restriction was needed across the bridge to protect it from being damaged by lorries.
The current bridge is believed to date back to the 1700s.
