Historic bridge near Shrewsbury closed to traffic after railings crash
An historic bridge near Shrewsbury has had to be closed to traffic after a vehicle crashed into railings.
The Grade II* Listed Cound Arbour Bridge was closed on Tuesday afternoon after severe damage was caused to the bridge parapet railings.
The bridge carries the unclassified road over the Cound Brook near Cound.
The road will remain closed to traffic until permanent repairs can be undertaken. Traffic is currently being diverted locally via Upper Cound and the A458.
A council spokesman said: "The retrieval of the damaged cast iron parapet railings is being undertaken by Shropshire Council’s term maintenance contractor, Ringway, but some of these are too badly damaged for reuse. It is therefore likely our contractors will have to have new sections cast to match the existing railings.
"Shropshire Council’s term contract consultant, WSP, will be carrying out a thorough inspection to confirm the condition of the rest of the bridge. This inspection will allow for the repair scheme to be designed and enable the new materials to be ordered.
"Because of the bridge’s Listed status, WSP will be liaising with Shropshire Council’s Historic Environment Team throughout the design and repair process. Due to nature of materials used and lead in times required for casting of the new parapet sections a programme date is not currently available.
"The full extent of the damage is currently unknown but costs will be recoverable from the vehicle owner’s insurance company."
