By Andrew Topping, Local Democracy Reporter
Lady Bay Bridge is expected to reopen in both directions this weekend after weeks of work to repair its damaged structure following a crash.
The busy bridge connecting Nottingham and Rushcliffe was initially closed in both directions after a lorry crashed through part of its structure on July 4. The driver did not suffer life-threatening or life-altering injuries.
It then reopened in one direction on July 11, with traffic heading out of the city prioritised to “ensure the safety” of residents and motorists in Nottingham.
Nottinghamshire County Council confirmed work had started to repair the historic 19th-century bridge at the beginning of August, stating at the time it expected the works to last throughout the month.
But now the authority has confirmed the bridge is due to reopen “slightly before lunchtime” on Saturday, August 20 – 10 days ahead of schedule.
The bridge will, however, close in both directions during part of the morning so final works on its structure can conclude, with the authority hoping to have traffic flowing in and out of the city before the afternoon.
This, the authority says, will minimise disruption for fans travelling to Notts County’s home fixture against Chesterfield on Saturday.
Councillor Neil Clarke (Con) is the council’s portfolio holder for transport and environment.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “It might sound ironic, but we need to completely close the bridge in order to do the final fixings of the safety barriers.
“We’ve programmed to do that early Saturday morning with the intention and the ambition that we get the bridge fully open before lunchtime.
“There are football matches and cricket matches and we’re keen to try and facilitate those because it would create a lot more havoc if the bridge isn’t fully open.”
He adds the council managed to complete the work ahead of schedule after working closely with its partner Via East Midlands and the organisation’s sub-contractor.
Workers were asked to do longer hours to bring the repairs to an end quickly, while the council sourced materials for the improvements and reused some of the damaged structures from the historic bridge.
The repairs involved erecting scaffolding along the bridge to rebuild the parapet and renewing the existing safety barriers.
The parapet – a low wall that runs along the edge of the bridge – was be replaced with materials befitting its heritage.
Cllr Clarke added: “We’ve had great cooperation with Via and its sub-contractors, a specialist contractor which is very familiar with this sort of work.
“They’ve really stepped up to the plate and worked longer hours to get this prestiged bridge opened as soon as possible, and they worked really hard to bring this work forward and make sure it’s ready to reopen.
“The bridge should look very similar [to how it looked prior to the crash], that’s the whole idea because it’s a local heritage asset and has historical importance.
“In theory, the brickwork should look cleaner than the rest of it but should be pretty much the same.”
