Bridge repairs close busy Shropshire hospital route for weeks
Repairs are underway to an old railway bridge on a busy road route to Shropshire's Orthopaedic Hospital.
Diversions through the village of Gobowen are in place as work takes place on the Twmpath Bridge on the road between the Oswestry bypass and the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Hospital.
The hospital can now be accessed by a route via the Gobowen to Whittington road or through Park Hall.
The bridge crosses the disused Oswestry to Gobowen rail line that enthusiasts want to reopen to connect the town to the mainline railway. A railway halt next to the bridge was once busy with train passengers getting on and off the trains for the hospital. The line closed in the 1960s as part of the infamous Beeching cuts to railways.
Work to repair the old railway bridge started on Monday and the 24-hour closure is likely to take two weeks. Shropshire Council says that throughout the period access for pedestrians and dismounted cyclists will remain available.
The closure of the bridge, after it was hit by a vehicle, is the latest diversion in the area.
Traffic has been facing overnight road closures on parts of the Oswestry bypass to allow work to take place on its roundabouts.
