By Andrew Topping, Local Democracy Reporter
A lorry driver injured when his vehicle crashed off the side of Lady Bay Bridge in July is out of hospital and recovering well.
The vehicle was seen tipped on its side underneath the bridge after crashing through its parapet on Monday, July 4.
Emergency services rushed to the scene and the lorry driver was taken to hospital. It was later confirmed he did not suffer life-altering or life-threatening injuries.
However, no update had since been provided on the condition of the driver as Nottinghamshire County Council pressed forward with urgent repairs to the bridge.
But now Councillor Neil Clarke (Con), portfolio holder for transport and environment at the council, has confirmed he spoke to the business involved in the incident this week and received an update on the driver.
Speaking during a full council meeting on Thursday (September 22), Cllr Clarke said: “I’m sure many of us saw the photographs in the media of the lorry lying on its side beneath the bridge.
“The first and most important thing is to say the driver is out of hospital and recovering well, we contacted the business concerned on Tuesday to receive the update and it was welcome news.
“We will all want to join in sending the driver best wishes for the future.”
His comment came as some councillors praised the work undertaken to get the bridge reopened to motorists.
It was closed completely for a week while assessments of the damage took place, before being reopened for motorists in the direction leaving the city from July 11.
Repairs took place throughout late July and early August, and the council re-opened it in both directions on Saturday, August 20.
Works included a safety barrier being installed on the bridge, a complex clean-up of the destroyed parapet and the use of temporary concrete barriers.
In repairing the bridge, the authority sourced materials similar to the historic brickwork of its structure and reused some of the original bricks when possible.
Cllr Clarke added: “There was significant disruption to traffic throughout the rush hour, but the council – working in partnership with Via East Midlands and the city council – immediately began work assessing the damage.
“A complex clean-up operation then followed, with temporary concrete barriers, to allow the bridge to reopen in one direction.
“The parapet itself has been rebuilt to replicate the previous design and, wherever possible, we reused materials. The final stage of the works was the installation of the new safety barrier.
“I’d like to thank motorists for their patience while we were working to make the bridge safe. They had been delayed and I’m pleased we were able to do this well ahead of the 12-week schedule we had in place.
“This fast completion was good news for drivers, residents and businesses in West Bridgford, but also the wider county and city road network.”
The repair work was also welcomed by Cllr Jonathan Wheeler (Con), who represents West Bridgford South on the south side of the bridge.
“This prompt response was a great benefit to residents in the West Bridgford area, including in my own division of West Bridgford South,” he said.
“[These residents] not only use the bridge on a regular basis but were also affected by the traffic issues inevitably caused by temporary diversions while the repairs were taking place.”
