Local questions and answers

In this section we have answered some of the key issues, questions, and concerns that have been raised by residents through consultation on the Winterstoke Road replacement bridge scheme.

Winterstoke Road Bridge was originally built during the Second World War. It was only ever supposed to be temporary a bridge and it has now reached the end of its lifespan. This is partly why the bridge has a weight limit. 

A replacement bridge will be built to last for 120 years. Improvements to the foundations will allow us to remove the weight limit and provide better and safer access.

If we do not replace Winterstoke Road bridge, it would have to close to all traffic within the next five to ten years.

Winterstoke Road Bridge was built during the Second World War to provide access to the RAF’s aeroplane factories. Because of this, the Ministry of Defence own the bridge and are paying for its replacement. 

We have contributed a further £450,000 to the project. We will use this to deliver improvements to walking and cycling. We aim to help local communities make journeys more sustainably as we all do our bit to work towards net zero.  

Our contribution comes from capital funds that cannot be used on day to day revenue spending. You can read more about the difference between capital and revenue budgets on our dedicated webpage.

To improve pedestrian and cycle access, we will build:

• a 2m wide pedestrian path on the western side of the bridge and;
• a 3m wide shared cycle and pedestrian path on the eastern side of the bridge. 

The shared path will link up with the shared cycle and pedestrian paths leading onto the bridge. This will remove the current bottleneck and connect pedestrians and cyclists with local active travel routes.

Construction of the new bridge is complicated due to a number of factors.

This includes:

• challenging ground conditions that require extra foundations and;
• diversion of a number of utilities to nearby homes and businesses, for example gas, water and BT services.

Construction also has to take place alongside an active train line. It is important that we work safely and cause minimal disruption to journeys. We are working with Network Rail to ensure this happens. 

Network Rail dictate when and how contractors can carry out activities near a rail line. Due to this, there are some activities we are not allowed to complete between April and September. This will further slow our delivery programme.

Winterstoke Road Bridge provides an important route for people in the local area. It provides access to local homes, schools and places of work. Due to works, we are not able to maintain access for vehicles. We will maintain pedestrian access to the bridge throughout the period of construction.

It is not possible to build a temporary bridge that is open to vehicles as there isn’t enough land space.  It is also not cost-effective to build a temporary bridge elsewhere that carries vehicles. There isn’t a suitable location that would support the 20,000 diverted cars that pass through this area.

We will begin to prepare the area for construction in Spring 2025. In autumn, we will then start to build the temporary pedestrian bridge. We plan to have this completed before the old Winterstoke Road Bridge is closed at the end of 2025.

The old Winterstoke Road Bridge will then be demolished. This will allow us to start works to build foundations for the new bridge in early 2026. Construction of the new bridge will begin mid 2026 and we expect it to open to traffic in spring 2027.

The replacement Winterstoke Road Bridge will be around 60m long. That’s the same as six double decker buses parked bumper to bumper. 

Due to the bridge’s length, we will build it in sections rather than all at once. We will build the foundations before this can happen. This involves piling works deep in the ground.

To complete the build, a crane will be built on site. This will allow us to lift in the individual sections of the bridge. There will be substantial preparation works to the ground to support the crane before construction of the new bridge can begin.

The normal working hours on the construction site are through the day. They will be:

• 8AM to 6PM - Mondays to Fridays
• 8AM to 1PM - Saturdays

However, there will be instances where we may need to work outside of these times. This may include works at night. This is because Network Rail will not allow certain construction activities when the rail line is in use.

The construction site will be surrounded by wooden boarding.

This will keep the site safe and secure and provide some protection against noise, light and other onsite activity.

We will also reduce impacts of noise by:

• using modern plant equipment
• using noise barriers
• switching off plant, machinery, and vehicles when they are not in use.

We will also be making sure that site activities take place during the day and not at night (as far as possible).

The contractor has considered different locations for a compound.  They are exploring options to locate welfare facilities and car parking off site. 

This is so they can keep the construction site compound as small as possible. There is a need to have a compound adjacent to the bridge so we can deliver the works efficiently.

We will need to redirect traffic during the demolition of the old bridge and the building of the new one. You can find the planned diversion routes on our dedicated traffic management webpage.

The traffic diversions were designed based on the findings of traffic counts and expert views on how traffic flows around the area. Once construction begins, we will conduct additional traffic surveys to review the impacts of the road closure.

Traffic will be busier during the construction period so be sure to plan your journeys. We are working closely with teams across the council who are delivering other infrastructure projects that may also have impacts on local traffic. 

This includes:

• BSIP schemes
• A38 MRN
• Banwell bypass.

This is to ensure we deliver works in a coordinated way. The goal is to reduce traffic impacts of the local road network as far as possible.

Yes, there will be a safe crossing during the construction works. The zebra crossing will remain in place to the north of the bridge. Our contractor will also put a safe crossing point to the south. This will support access to the temporary pedestrian bridge during the construction period.

We do not expect the bridge closure to increase the number of vehicles speeding within Haywood Village. We will work with the police to monitor the situation.

We hope to hold more drop in events closer to the beginning of the bridge’s construction. 

You can contact the North Somerset project team via email. Someone will get back to you within ten working days.