Government agrees to pay for repairs to 200-year-old Grade II Listed Chetwynd Bridge
Funding worth £2.35million has been secured to carry out work on a Grade II Listed road bridge near Lichfield.
The Chetwynd Bridge crosses the River Tame on the A513 Croxx Ray near the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas.
But traffic management measures have been in place since January 2019 after and inspection found there cast iron railings had deteriorated and would not withstand an impact.
Concrete blocks were installed as a temporary safety measure, meaning the road was restricted to single file traffic.
The Department of Transport has now announced that Staffordshire County Council’s bid for funding has been accepted, meaning a two-year project of long-term repairs can take place.
Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport Cllr Helen Fisher said:
“Chetwynd Bridge is one of the county’s iconic listed structures, located next to the National Memorial Arboretum.
“It is 200 years old and obviously not designed for modern traffic, which has had led to its deterioration.
“It’s fantastic news then that this bid to Government has been successful, meaning we can get on with the job of restoring the bridge and installing permanent signals.
“We are pleased this scheme was recognised in what was an incredibly competitive process.
“We will release more detail on the repair works has soon as we can and look forward to getting started as soon as possible.”
Cllr Helen Fisher, Staffordshire County Council
“Full refurbishment”
The repair programme will see the installation of permanent vehicle barriers on each side of the road along with restored heritage cast iron railings and panels.
Permanent traffic lights will be installed with the current single lane retained.
There will be a full refurbishment of the bridge, including the cast iron arches and sandstone piers.
In the long term, the county council hope funding of £14million can be secured to build a new road bridge and transform the 19th Century Chetwynd Bridge, which was built by Joseph Potter, into a cycle link and footpath to the National Memorial Arboretum.