Lady Bay Bridge will not be fully reopened for "many weeks", a leading Nottinghamshire County Councillor has said. During an interview with Nottinghamshire Live, Transport and Environment Committee Chairman Neil Clarke said that repairs could possibly take up to "a few months" following an incident yesterday (July 4) in which a lorry crashed off of the bridge - causing significant damage.
The bridge has been closed in both directions following the crash and councillor Clarke reiterated the council's plan to open the bridge in one direction next week. Which direction that will be remains to be seen, but the bridge will remain closed for the remainder of this week.
Cllr Clarke stated that the council are still "in the unknown" until a full assessment is made.
When asked about a timescale of when the bridge may reopen, Cllr Clarke said: "If I could just first of all say on behalf of the County Council, we hope that the driver is recovering well and wishing all the best for the future. And obviously, as far as the county council is concerned, safety is our main priority.
"We want to make sure it's all road users and other members of the public are safe at all times. So in terms of timescales, it will remain completely closed for the rest of this week as safety assessments are made and structural assessments are made.
"And during that time, we'll assess as to when it can be opened. We are planning and hoping that we can open it one way next week.
"Which direction that's going to be we're still going to be sure to plan ahead. So, in terms of rebuilding, we have to design the repair using as many existing materials as possible in disappearances, assets, making sure that it is the structural bridge to make sure it's all is going to be safe for the future.
"That's going to take several weeks. So we need to manage expectations as to when it will be fully back open. But obviously we're working hard to make sure it is open soon as possible.
"I am afraid it will be affected for many weeks. It could be into a few months, possibly. Obviously, we're still slightly in the unknown until a full assessment has been made.
"I do want to manage expectations that it will be many weeks until it's fully reopened but we've got to just manage those expectations and I'm afraid that traffic disruption in and out of the city can't be avoided but we'll do our level best to get it reopened as soon as possible to try and minimise that disruption.
"There'll be a lot of coordination taking place with the major events venues and also, there'll be conversations with people like bus operators, and others. But it's important that we communicate with the public as much as possible."
Lady Bay Bridge has been closed since the early hours of yesterday morning. Police say they were called at 8.51am to reports that a lorry had crashed off of the bridge.
The extent of the drivers injuries are unknown, but his injuries are not thought to be life-threatening or altering. Traffic has been slow since the crash and traffic around the Lady Bay Bridge area is expected to suffer in the coming weeks.
When asked about the extent of the damage to the bridge, Cllr Clarke said: "It was certainly a serious incident. That's for sure. As far as we know, the main structure of the bridge has not been affected but there are some probably minor structural effects that we need to assess and check to make sure that the brick parapet can be rebuilt and reconnected to the bridge structure safely, without without any detriment
"We do want to thank the public for their understanding and patience in a very difficult time. I understand the frustration of having diversions, but obviously because of the nature of the incident this was absolutely necessary.
"So thank you to everybody for their patience so far, and in the future."
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