Stenson Bridge to be repaired at £200,000

Published: Wednesday, 21 October 2009

THE bridge over the Trent & Mersey Canal at Stenson that had its parapet destroyed when a farmers' trailer toppled through it, is to be repaired at an estimated cost of £200,000.

It was last October when a trailer loaded with manure came away from the tractor and plunged through the parapet into the canal, with since then a temporary footbridge having been erected over the waterway.

British Waterways has announced that the repair  to the listed structure will begin in January, and is expected to take three months, as part of the winter repair programme, with stoppages in place.

A spokesman from BW related:

"The temporary footbridge will remain in place while the repairs are made and due to the scaffolding that will be in place around the structure the waterway will have to be closed."

But news of the complete stoppage has not been welcomed by Eddie Baldwin, Managing Director of nearby Stenson Marina, explaining:

"We run a trip boat from the marina and only have permission to run this on the route that goes directly under the bridge to Willington. If they close the waterway then we will lose business.

"It will have taken more than a year to repair the damage. We have been calling for this to be done a lot sooner as the bridge has been very unstable and at risk of collapse since the accident."