City road closures on the way as bridge maintenance starts

A citywide programme of road bridge maintenance work it set to get underway in Leicester.

The City Council will spend over £500,000 on a phased programme of maintenance and repairs to five road bridges due to be carried out over the next six to eight months.

Works to Rayner Road bridge, which spans the Melton Brook in Rushey Mead, will get underway from Tuesday 28 August. Engineers will replace and upgrade the existing bridge parapets and upstand and install as new waterproofing system, before the road is resurfaced and new railings installed. Work is expected to take up to eight weeks and will cost about £110,000.

Rayner Road will be closed to through traffic at the bridge. Access to the industrial estate will be via Barkby Road or Thurmaston Boulevard. Some temporary parking and loading restrictions may be required on nearby roads during the works. Pedestrian access will be maintained.

A second scheme, which will see work carried out to the road bridge on Havencrest Drive will get underway in September. The bridge, which carries traffic over the Bushy Brook, will have a new waterproofing system installed before resurfacing is carried out. Repairs to the parapet brickwork and abutment under the bridge will also be carried out as part of the £140,000 project.

Work is expected to take around eight weeks, and the road will be closed to through traffic during this time. Access will be maintained from Scraptoft Lane and The Parkway.

Letters have been delivered to nearby homes and businesses affected by the planned works.

Other works are planned for Bridge Road, Evington Road and Waterloo Way and will get underway in coming months. Further details will be publicised nearer the time.

Work will be funded as part of the annual highway maintenance programme. This year, over £4.5million will be invested in road and footpath repairs, resurfacing and bridge maintenance.

City Mayor Peter Soulsby said: “These are vital maintenance works that will help ensure our road bridges are in good order for many years to come. Alongside this, we will continue our programme of bridge inspections to help us identify where future investment needs to be made.

“We will make every effort to minimise disruption to nearby residents and businesses, but the nature of the works does require that the bridges are closed to traffic.”