Work is to commence to dismantle Kingsweston Iron Bridge in Bristol.

Kingsweston Iron Bridge is a Grade II listed cast iron footbridge built in around 1800 that spans Kings Weston Road, linking Blaise Castle Estate to Kingsweston Fields.

After a series of collisions by trucks made it unstable and unsafe, the footbridge was closed by the council in 2015. Since then, it has been secured and propped up by scaffolding, while a long-term solution has been worked on that is sensitive to the footbridge’s historic nature.

The project to repair Kingsweston Iron Bridge and raise it up by just over a metre is set to get underway. The £1.1 million works will include adding steps at either end and fully restoring it.

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Work, that will be carried out by heritage accredited contractors, to dismantle the bridge piece by piece so that it can be repaired off-site, will start on Monday 27 November 2023. It will take around two weeks to take the structure down, which will mean Kings Weston Road will need to be closed over the two weeks with a signposted diversion to follow.

The dismantled bridge will be transported to a workshop in Bristol where the paint from all the components will be removed to assess their condition. If a part is beyond repair, it will be re-casted. Any replacement parts needed would be cast on a like for like basis.

Work to the stone abutments, either end of the bridge, is programmed to start in the New Year. This will include building them up by 1.074m and adding steps, ready for when the bridge can be craned back in place in a raised position later in 2024.

The £1.1 million project is being funded by the council's Highway Infrastructure Bridge Investments fund.