A new footbridge in Newport city centre may not open to the public until next year despite being installed a year ago. A new 500-tonne footbridge connecting Queensway and Devon Place was granted permission in early 2020 with the council aiming to improve accessibility to the city's main train station.
The new pedestrian link, which will replace the vandalism-prone subway which has been blighted by drugs and anti-social behaviour issues in recent years, was officially installed last December which saw the station closed for two days. You can see pictures of the huge bridge being lowered into place here.
The bridge had been expected to open this year but Newport City Council has confirmed it now may not open to the public until 2023 due to supply chain issues which have delayed the public area surrounding the structure. A spokesman said it was "not able to give a firm opening date" and was looking at facilitating access to the bridge from the Queensway side while allowing the remaining work to be completed. But it said if this was not possible that the bridge would open in "early 2023".
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A Newport City Council spokesman said: "Work on the bridge itself is almost complete. However we are experiencing some supply chain issues with materials we need to complete the public realm on the Queensway side of the bridge, issues which have delayed the opening of the bridge.
"We are continuing to work with the contractor on an opening date for the bridge. While we are not able to give a firm opening date at this moment we are looking at whether it is feasible for us to get enough of the public realm completed to allow us to open the bridge before the end of the year. This would involve us facilitating access to the bridge from the Queensway side while maintaining a construction compound area adjacent to this access point for the rest of the work to be completed.
"If this is not possible then the bridge will open in early 2023. We are keen to get the bridge open as soon as possible so that our residents can start benefiting from it and we appreciate their patience and understanding while we put the finishing touches on this important piece of infrastructure."
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