{"id":28587,"date":"2020-12-12T15:54:16","date_gmt":"2020-12-12T15:54:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsblogsnew.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=28587"},"modified":"2020-12-12T15:54:16","modified_gmt":"2020-12-12T15:54:16","slug":"ihbc-features-heritage-from-the-doorstep-durhams-whorlton-bridge-to-close-until-further-notice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=28587","title":{"rendered":"IHBC features \u2018Heritage from the doorstep\u2019: Durham\u2019s Whorlton Bridge to close until further notice"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A historic County Durham bridge – Grade II, Scheduled, the UK\u2019s oldest road suspension bridge and the earliest surviving structure using an iron chained suspension bridge – is due to close after a condition assessment found it is no longer able to support pedestrians, writes the Durham Magazine.<\/em><\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

\u2026Grade II-listed structure and Scheduled Monument\u2026UK\u2019s oldest road suspension bridge\u2026<\/span><\/em><\/h2>\n

\u2026 Major repairs were made in 1993 and 2003\u2026<\/span><\/em><\/h2>\n

Durham Magazine<\/em> writes:<\/p>\n

Whorlton Bridge, near Barnard Castle, will be closed to all users from Saturday 5 December until further notice.<\/p>\n

Opened in July 1831, the Grade II-listed structure and Scheduled Monument is the UK\u2019s oldest road suspension bridge and also the UK\u2019s earliest surviving structure using an iron chained suspension bridge.<\/p>\n

Originally designed only to carry horse-drawn traffic working on the Durham Coalfields, in 1985 a restriction was put in place limiting the bridge to one vehicle at a time.<\/p>\n

The bridge has provided an efficient link for local residents in Whorlton and those visiting the area. Major repairs were made in 1993 and 2003 while anti-slip decking was added in 2008 and minor maintenance carried out in 2017.<\/p>\n

Since closing the bridge to vehicles in August 2019, a diversion has been in place and specialist independent engineers have undertaken detailed inspections to determine its current condition and assess its load-carrying capacity.<\/p>\n

Although the bridge has remained open for pedestrians and cyclists, an assessment has shown that the bridge is no longer able to support pedestrians and the identification of a hanger failure, which resulted in the closure of access to vehicles last year, appears to not be an isolated issue with the condition of other hangers deteriorating.<\/p>\n

Public safety has always been a priority…<\/p>\n

Alan Patrickson, Durham County Council\u2019s corporate director for neighbourhoods and climate change, said:<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cAs Whorlton Bridge is a Grade II-listed structure and a Scheduled Monument, we will now work very closely with conservation teams and seek permission and support from Historic England and the Environment Agency before progressing with any works.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cFurther testing plans and proposals will be developed…”<\/em><\/p>\n

For further information and the latest updates on Whorlton Bridge, please visit www.durham.gov.uk\/whorltonbridge<\/p>\n

Read more….<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A historic County Durham bridge – Grade II, Scheduled, the UK\u2019s oldest road suspension bridge and the earliest surviving structure using an iron chained suspension bridge – is due to close after a condition assessment found it is no longer … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ihbc-newsblog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28587"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28589,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28587\/revisions\/28589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}