Traders in Curzon Street and Standish Street set for disruption as bridge repair work begins

As revealed in the Burnley Express last June, traders in neighbouring Standish Street revealed they had seen a near 100% drop in trade when the first phase of the work began.

Indeed, one business, Cuppa Cake Ltd, has since closed due to that and other pressures.

Where

The bridge is located under the road on Curzon Street, close to Primark at the T-junction where it joins onto Bankfield and the pedestrianised area of the town centre. Some roads will need to be closed and temporary traffic arrangements will be put in place.

Bankfield will be closed to all vehicles from its junction with Standish Street, (except for access for delivery vehicles into the Market Hall).

Curzon Street will be closed from its junction with Bankfield up to the junction with Parker Street.

To allow for this the southern section of Standish Street will become two-way and on street parking will no longer be permitted.

The pedestrian route on the southern footway of Bankfield to Charter Walk will remain open.

How long

The road will be closed for 11 months, while delivery access to the Market Hall will remain open.

Lancashire County Council has written to nearby businesses to make them aware of the work.

The first stage of this work, to redirect gas lines, was completed earlier this year. The rest of the project was organised to re-start in January, to minimise the impact on shops, shoppers and local businesses during the festive period.

Disruption

County Coun. Rupert Swarbrick, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "This is a major bridge, which carries the highway over the River Brun. Its condition means that it needs restorative work to ensure that it remains safe in the future.

"We held back on the work until January to ensure that the work would not affect businesses, shops and shoppers in the run up to Christmas. We are aware that it's been a hard year for many retailers and we were keen to minimise the impact of the work.

"We are sorry for any inconvenience and we will do everything we can to keep disruption to a minimum."