The next phase of work to replace a 90-year-old bridge on the Leicestershire-Nottinghamshire border is about to begin.
The £19.5m scheme will see the deteriorating ‘Zouch Bridge’, which spans the River Soar, replaced with a new one.
The Leicestershire County Council scheme is being delivered by specialist contractor Eric Wright Civil Engineering and is due to be completed by early 2027.
The new bridge will be situated parallel to the existing bridge and accessed by re-aligned sections of the A6006, near Zouch village.
The existing bridge will be demolished and the old approach roads removed, so the ground can be landscaped.
“This is an ambitious project on a key route. Things are starting to take shape and we are looking forward to seeing work continue to progress.
“We would like to thank residents and motorists for bearing with us. Disruption is being minimised wherever possible and we will be reducing the national speed limit on a small section of the A6006 to 30mph from 10 February, to protect our workforce during construction.
“There will also be some road closures at points, which will be carefully programmed in and kept to a minimum, whilst essential work takes place.”
Person:Cllr Ozzy O'Shea, county council lead member for highways and transport
Gavin Hulme, Operations Director for Eric Wright Civil Engineering, said: “We are proud to be working on this technically demanding and complex bridge replacement project for Leicestershire County Council.
“It demonstrates our capability to deliver challenging projects of this nature, and we look forward to continued collaboration with the council and their team in delivering a successful outcome and securing this critical infrastructure for the future."
Person:Gavin Hulme, operations director for Eric Wright Civil Engineering
A new works compound is being installed from February, along with a new access track and ground preparation for the equipment which will help to assemble the bridge.
The Public Right of Way which crosses the site will also be closed during the work. This will be re-routed and the revised footpath will be opened when the scheme is completed.
The council is responsible for around 300 bridges which require continuing maintenance, but few need work on the scale of Zouch.
More information about the Zouch Bridge Replacement Scheme and latest updates
Notes
The county council has set aside £19.5m to carry out the work, with £7.5m towards the essential capital works coming from the Leicester and Leicestershire Business Rates Pool, following an unsuccessful bid to the previous Government for ‘levelling up’ funds.
The initial phase of work involved the building of ‘cofferdams’ on both sides of the river. These will enable the safe construction of the bridge piers by creating a watertight enclosure built within this particular stretch of the Soar to allow water to be pumped out or drained to create a dry and safe working environment.
The work was temporarily suspended since the autumn until February to eliminate the risks of working in a flood plain during the winter months and to meet Environment Agency ‘in-river’ working restrictions intended to protect spawning fish.
The bridge components will be assembled on the land next to the river and, due to the presence of overhead, high-voltage cables will then be guided into place using a jacking system.
The work has been programmed to restrict road closures to the time periods when the main beams are delivered, when the new carriageway, between the existing line of the A6006 and the new bridge is joined together and when diverting essential utilities.