NATIONAL Highways has confirmed the date when the new Badminton Road bridge over the M4 will open.
The bridge, which has been under construction for the past six months, will be officially opened to pedestrians and cyclists on June 19, with motorists on the A432 able to cross between the Frome Valley and Avon Ring Road from 7am on June 20.
It will bring to an end nearly three years of disruption and delays for the thousands who used the old bridge every day for journeys between Bristol and Yate.
Confirmation of the opening date came days after the junction of the ring road and Bristol Road at Hambrook was fully reopened to traffic, ending nearly seven years of restrictions.
The old bridge, which carried 16,000 vehicles a day on the A432 between Bristol and Yate, closed in July 2023 when a routine inspection by engineers discovered “accelerated deterioration and cracking” in the concrete.
Since then motorists have been diverted onto narrow country lanes including Henfield Road, Ram Hill and Serridge Lane in Coalpit Heath.
After launching an accelerated programme to design a new bridge, the old one was demolished in March last year and the beams for the new bridge were installed in October, during two of three complete weekend closures of the M4 between Hambrook and Tormarton staged as part of the work.
National Highways has avoided announcing an exact date for the new bridge to open until now, previously saying only that works were expected to finish in the spring of this year.
In April the government-owned corporation, which is responsible for the bridge and motorway, cancelled a series of overnight M4 closures that had been scheduled for April 27-30 and May 26-29, to remove traffic management measures from the motorway.
National Highways said earlier in the year that wet weather had “impacted the scheme slightly”, holding up earthworks on the embankment.
In recent weeks contractors, who have been working through weekend on the project, have finished the concrete abutments connecting the bridge to the embankment.
Work completed ‘much faster than usual’
National Highways Route Manager Sean Walsh said: “We’re delighted to say that we’ll be opening the new and improved bridge this June, much faster than usual for a project of this size.
“Since we announced the old bridge needed to be demolished, the team have worked incredibly hard to deliver this project in just two and half years, half of the five years it would normally take.
“This new bridge will make a significant and positive difference to the journeys of visitors, local communities, and businesses. I would like to thank everyone in South Gloucestershire for their patience and support during this project.”
Workers from National Highways contractor Taylor Woodrow on the new bridge over the M4 in April
In April the government-owned corporation, which is responsible for the bridge and motorway, cancelled a series of overnight M4 closures that had been scheduled for April 27-30 and May 26-29, to remove traffic management measures from the motorway.
National Highways said earlier in the year that wet weather had “impacted the scheme slightly”, holding up earthworks on the embankment.
New M4 closures between junctions 18 and 19 for Bath and Bristol, needed to finish the construction work, have now been announced.
They are on May 5 to 9 and June 1 to 6, from 8pm to 6am each night.
There will also be lane closures on the M4 in both directions to finish work on the embankments by the bridge from June 8 to 13.
Thornbury & Yate MP Claire Young, whose constituency lost one of its major road links after the old bridge shut, said: “I am delighted that the bridge is finally set to open.
“It’s been a very difficult three years for local people, who have faced a lot of disruption to their travel plans and heavy traffic on country lanes.
“The re-opening will also be a great relief for all the businesses that have been so badly impacted. “Local people will be looking forward to quicker and easier journeys.”
Top picture: The M4 A432 Badminton Road bridge in April. Picture: Euan McCormick