Goal Ferry Bridge will shut for up to six months from Monday, June 6 as work to repair “corroding and rotting” steel beams starts.
It's one of two pedestrian bridges across the River Avon into the centre of Bristol. It connects Coronation Road in Southville with Cumberland Road and the Wapping Wharf development but is in need of vital repair work.
Despite Bristol City Council initially saying it would only shut for 12 weeks, the bridge will now be shut for six months.
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Repairs began in December 2021, but the bridge has remained partially open. Business owners have expressed concern over the lengthy closure of the pedestrian bridge and calls have been made for more bridges connecting south Bristol to the city centre as a result.
Concerns were made about how diversion routes could lead to clashes between pedestrians and cyclists, as well as access for disabled people, when Bristol City Council approved the closure during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, May 10.
Labour and Green councillors both said new bridges were needed across the river. Council chiefs looked at building a temporary replacement bridge, but this idea was dismissed as too difficult and expensive, costing about £1 million. People will instead be diverted either to the Vauxhall Bridge to the west, or the Bedminster Bridge to the east, both about half a mile away.
The works to Gaol Ferry Bridge are the first in a £15-million programme, with five other bridges seeing work done over five years. These are the Bath Bridge, Bedminster Bridges, Langton Street Footbridge and Vauxhall Footbridge. As part of these repair works, council chiefs were urged to improve disabled access on these key river crossings.
