A52 footbridge to be lifted this weekend

Published: 30 May 2020

The brand new foot and cycle bridge that will link the residential area of Chaddesden to the Wyvern and Pride Park is due to be lifted into place this weekend, Saturday 30th – Sunday 31st May 2020, on one of the biggest cranes in the country.

The crane itself is due to arrive on site today (Tuesday), arriving on 12 lorries, and will be constructed on site ahead of the weekend’s lift.

The new bridge, will measure over 82 metres in length, and will be a modern, professionally designed structure that will provide a significant enhancement to walking and cycling facilities in the area. It will create a fully accessible link between residential and commercial areas for pedestrians, cyclists, wheelchair, mobility scooter and pushchair users, and will offer many improvements over the previous bridge with ramped approaches, a four and half metre wide deck and a resin anti-slip surface. The bridge will also have handrail lighting and decorative arch lighting, designed to have minimal impact on nearby residential properties whilst providing safety for bridge users.

Due to the current pandemic, alternative ways to deliver the bridge lift, without compromising the safety of those involved have been put into place and the work will be delivered meeting safe methods of working, including appropriate social distancing measures, and the use of appropriate PPE, where necessary.

To enable Derby residents to watch this milestone as it happens, a live camera stream is now available for people to view both the crane build and the bridge installation on their PCs and tablets from the safety and comfort of their homes.

Our social media channels will also provide regular updates.

To allow the lift to take place safely, a full road closure will be in place on the A52 between Pentagon Island and Raynesway junctions in both directions from 8.00pm on Friday 29th May until 6.00am on Monday 1st June. If work is completed ahead of time, then the road will reopen earlier.

As stated previously, the bridge lift can only go ahead if the weather conditions are correct. The weekend of 6th and 7th June have also been reserved, should the weather conditions require the lift to be delayed.

It is anticipated that the new footbridge will be open to the public by late summer/early autumn 2020.

Councillor Matthew Holmes, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Planning, Regeneration and Transportation said:

Together with our partners, we have worked tirelessly over the past few weeks to find alternative ways of working to ensure social distancing for the workforce and I am delighted that we are able to press ahead with this key milestone at this current time. The new bridge will provide improved accessibility to and from the retail and business parks, enhancing walking and cycling facilities for all. We worked extremely hard to get the project back on track and since then the whole scheme has moved with significant pace and purpose. This will ensure the long-term benefits are delivered for the city, and I am particularly proud that this continues to be the case during such a difficult period of uncertainty. This demonstrates the city’s huge resilience to find a way to continue to deliver this landmark and City gateway within such constraints. I would once again, like to thank local businesses, residents and motorists for their continued patience and cooperation.

Transport