Damaged bridge traffic lights rack up £367k bill

More than £365,000 has been spent running traffic lights on a bridge damaged five years ago, the BBC can reveal.

The eye-watering bill was racked up by National Highways on Severalls Lane bridge, which runs over the A12 in northern Colchester, Essex.

The structure was closed five days after the UK went into lockdown in March 2020, having been struck by an excavator being transported below.

National Highways said repair work had not yet started, but £4m had been allocated to get the bridge reopened by autumn 2026.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request made by the BBC showed that since it was shut on 28 March 2020, £367,474 had been spent enforcing a lane closure on the bridge.

The data revealed reconstruction work would begin in "early 2026" and cost £3.7m, with a further £335,000 spent on design work.

John Coleman, who runs a butchery on the road, said it was a "disgusting" waste of money.

"Rush hour is terrible, you can have 30 or 40 cars outside here sometimes," he said.

"I just can't see why that bridge can't be open two ways, because there are still big lorries going across."

Mr Coleman said customers were often frustrated by queues that built up on the road, which links Colchester with the villages of Boxted and Great Horkesley.

"It works with the traffic lights until there's a problem, and then they send people miles out the way," he added.

Works have stalled over the years due to concern that any repairs will require a full closure of the A12.

However, it was later determined only the northbound carriageway needed to be shut.

David King, leader of Colchester City Council and the local ward councillor, said an "enormous investment" had been made "for not very much".

The Liberal Democrat said: "It's sad to say it's not just weeks or months, it's years of frustration.

"I've been promised a number of times that work will start, the design will start, that we'll get a date soon, but I see nothing - so I'm in the traffic queue for Highways advice."

Bridge beams suffered "severe damage" when they were struck by the excavator, which was being carried by a lorry on the A12, National Highways said.

Subsequent repairs could only be carried out by a specialist, and a lane closure was necessary for driver safety, a spokesman added.

He said: "We have now agreed on the preferred option for repairs and are progressing with the scheme design.

"[We] expect repairs to the beams to start in early 2026 and complete in autumn 2026, subject to funding and programming."

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