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Tuesday 29 Jan 2013

Weather damage delays reopening of footpath

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Engineers are working to repair a weather-damaged footpath and foundations which have delayed the reopening of the railway footbridge at Roodee viaduct, Chester.

The footbridge, which is owned by Cheshire West and Chester Council, has recently been refurbished at the same time as the Network Rail project to upgrade Roodee viaduct.

However, the recent bad weather has damaged the foundations beneath the tarmac footpath leading up to the footbridge, requiring lengthy repairs which have now put back the re-opening of the footbridge to spring of this year.

Explained project manager Nichola Smith: “Whilst we apologise for any inconvenience this delay may cause, our main priority is to provide a suitable long term solution to this issue, making sure the footpath and footbridge are safe and fit for public use once reopened.”

Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Executive Member for Community and Environment, Councillor Lynn Riley, said: “Major works to improve the Roodee viaduct footway for local residents were close to completion when this issue occurred a few weeks ago. Network Rail’s geotechnical engineers are still assessing the damage, which forced the ramped path on the Curzon Park side of the river to shift quite significantly.

“The Council will continue to work with Network Rail in order to progress a solution and I hope that local residents will bear with us until the footway can be properly repaired and re-opened.”