Historic bridge near Oswestry to close for repairs

Drivers will face long diversions when Llanyblodwel Bridge, near Oswestry, closes on September 11 to repair a parapet.

Shropshire Council said the work will involve taking down and rebuilding the upstream bridge parapet which was damaged and displaced earlier this year when it was hit.

The bridge, which carries Station Road over the River Tanat, must be closed to traffic while the repairs are being carried out because the road is too narrow for it to be done safely.

Steve Davenport, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “It is appreciated that the bridge closure will cause some inconvenience and everyone involved will do all that they reasonably can to reopen it as soon as possible.”

While the road is closed, traffic will be diverted along local routes which cross over the Shropshire border into Powys.

Because the roads are narrow, different routes will be signed for northbound and southbound traffic. Pedestrians and dismounted cyclists will be allowed to cross the bridge throughout the work.

Llanyblodwel Parish Councillor, Arthur Walpole, said the bridge closure will be frustrating for residents who are also being affected by roadworks on the A483 at Pant.

“It’s a big diversion that people will have to take and notoriously these things get extended so I do hope it will just be the four weeks – no longer,” he said.

“We’ve already got roadworks on the A483 causing enormous problems. The road has been closed and very little work is seen to be done so it’s all very frustrating for us in Llanyblodwel at the moment.

“It’s disappointing that the damage happened in the first place. We put a lot of time and effort into buying a piece of land and widening the bridge, and it still happened.

“But farm machinery is getting bigger and bigger these days so I think it’s probably inevitable unfortunately.”