Repairs to historic Clitheroe bridge will start next week

The Edisford Bridge, a Grade II listed stone arch structure, carries Edisford Road (B6243) over the River Ribble. The bridge was closed for safety at around 11am yesterday (Friday) due to around 20 metres of the parapet wall being displaced. Lancashire County Council is due to begin repairs on Monday, with the work expected to take 2-3 weeks.

While shorter routes are available for most vehicles, a signed diversion suitable for all vehicle types is in place via Clitheroe, Chatburn, Sawley, Waddington and Bashall Town. Low bridges in Waddington and Whalley mean this is the shortest available route for all traffic including HGVs. The bridge is still open for pedestrians and cyclists, and will remain open throughout the repair work.

Harvey Danson, area highways manager for Lancashire County Council, said: "We know the closure of this bridge will cause some inconvenience, and we're sorry for the disruption, however, we can't allow it to continue being used while the parapet wall is unsafe. We'll be working to repair and reopen the bridge as soon as we can over the coming weeks and are grateful for people's patience."

A spokesperson for United Utilities said: "One of our water-on-wheels tankers was in the area keeping around 100 properties on their tap supply following a burst on a 16-inch water main.

"The exact circumstances of how the tanker collided with the parapet of the bridge are still under investigation. We are working closely with highway engineers from Lancashire Country Council to ensure the bridge is made safe and repairs start as soon as possible."

The full diversion is as follows: Edisford Road - Twitter Lane - West Bradford Road- Waddington Road - Grindleton Road - Grindleton Brow - Sawley Road - Gisburn Road (A59) - Pimlico Link Road- Chatburn Road - Waterloo Road - Whalley Road - Eshton Terrace - Thorn Street - Edisford Road.