Evening-to-morning Marlow Bridge closures set for second week of January

Nightly and pre-rush hour closures are set for Marlow Bridge this coming week from Monday to Saturday – affecting all vehicles and pedestrians.

The historic suspension bridge needs major maintenance, including replacement of the bearings (the parts that support the bridge deck).

A wider restoration programme started in spring/summer this year, with some significant works taking place just before the Christmas period.

Works continued into the new year; from January 5 until January 10, Buckinghamshire Council is closing the bridge from 8pm to 6am. Diversions will be in place for traffic over the A404.

For the rest of the day, vehicles and pedestrians will be able to cross the bridge as normal.

This work is so the council can safely install ‘vital’ monitoring equipment, used for a key phase in the works

To replace its bearings, engineers are rigging it to lift the bridge by a small, controlled amount, enough to take the weight off the bearings so they can put new ones in.

The council wants to measure how the bridge responds during those lifts, so the structure remains safe.

Early construction work has started on both sides of the bridge to prepare for lifting and this will continue throughout the month.

In December, crews began removing some of the structural beams next to the main supports and installing temporary foundations to safely support the bridge ahead of later work.

So far, works have been taking place underneath the bridge, with no road or lane closures.

The most visible change has been some suspended parking bays near the park and Pound Lane car park.

Works paused over the festive period to return ‘as much space as possible’ to the car park and high street for shopping and other activities.

Come January 5, full parking suspensions will be reinstated.

Bucks council says it is now moving towards ‘the main phase’ of structural works.

As such, a working compound is now in place within Pound Lane Car Park, providing essential storage, facilities and workspaces for the construction team.

Moving past January 5-10, more monitoring equipment will be installed – but differently, in order ‘to keep the need for full closures to a minimum.’

The plan is to install it from either below the bridge, or by closing one footpath at a time.

In addition, throughout January, the council will be installing new electrical cabinets supplying power to the street lights on the bridge.

Lighting on the bridge has been a separate controversial issue recently, with Marlow Town Council having been denied permission to illuminate its chains and tops of the arches as a design and heritage feature – a council decision that was overturned at appeal.

In February, depending on the weather, Buckinghamshire council will be looking to do its first lift of the bridge over a weekend closure – with more details to come soon.

The council is also working with Thames Water, SSEN and other utility companies to coordinate their works around the planned Marlow Bridge closures – hoped to minimise disruption and keep essential utilities services running.

In Bucks more broadly, about 340 schemes are being delivered as part of the council’s rolling £120million investment in roads across the county over four years.

These include larger resurfacing projects, ‘major’ drainage improvements, footway works and road safety projects on sections of the highways.

Some activities are ‘extremely weather dependent’, rely on the availability of materials, and could face ‘unforeseen circumstances’. Therefore, work and road closure dates subject to change at short notice.

There is no weekend working unless specified.