Esh Construction has been appointed by East Riding of Yorkshire Council to carry out a £1 million refurbishment of Weel Bridge, a 70-year-old aluminium bascule bridge spanning the River Hull between Beverley and the village of Weel.

The project will involve removing the entire bridge structure and transporting it off site for specialist repairs and refurbishment before returning it later this summer. The work is designed to extend the operational life of the crossing, which is an important local transport link.

Constructed in 1953, Weel Bridge is a rare structure within the UK bridge network. Built from aluminium and designed as a counterweighted bascule bridge, it allows road traffic to cross the tidal river while lifting to permit vessels to pass underneath.

Steven Garrigan said: "Weel Bridge is a distinctive structure, and the decision to fully remove an aluminium bascule bridge for off-site refurbishment reflects the complexity and unique nature of the engineering challenge. This approach allows us to undertake critical structural repairs and system upgrades in a controlled environment, improving quality, safety and long-term resilience, while also preventing works above an important watercourse and ecosystem."

Project inspections identified corrosion in sections of the aluminium structure, along with deterioration in parapets, pedestrian facilities and the mechanical and electrical components that control the bridge’s operation. While routine maintenance has been carried out in recent years, the council determined that the scale of the defects now requires a more extensive refurbishment.

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Work is scheduled to begin in April, with the council confirming that the route carrying traffic between Beverley and Weel will close temporarily from Monday, 13 April. The closure is expected to remain in place until late July to allow the bridge to be removed, repaired and reinstalled.

Paul West said: "We understand the closure of this route will cause issues for drivers and pedestrians, but I want to thank them in advance for bearing with us while we complete this essential work and reopen the bridge.

"Unfortunately, carrying out the work while the bridge remained in place would cause major safety problems for users and our workers, and untold disruption to traffic. So it’s unavoidable that we need to remove the bridge and carry out the work off-site. This means the improvements can be made more quickly, regardless of the weather, to a better standard, and we can get the bridge back in place and the route reopened as soon as we possibly can."

The bridge's location within a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and the tidal nature of the River Hull made carrying out major repairs in place particularly challenging. Activities such as structural metal repairs, grit blasting and applying coatings above the water were considered difficult to control and posed potential environmental and scheduling risks.

Esh Construction will work with specialist subcontractors Ekspan and Retroflo to transport the structure to a factory facility. From mid-April, the bridge will be unbolted and lifted using a 150-tonne crane before being transported as an abnormal load to Sheffield for a 12-week repair programme.

While the bridge is off site, Esh Construction will carry out additional civil engineering work on the surrounding road approaches. The western approach will be realigned to improve visibility and safety for vehicles, while pedestrian facilities will also be upgraded. Narrow footways will be replaced with a wider shared pedestrian and cyclist route on one side of the crossing to bring the bridge closer to modern standards.

The project will also include refurbishment and upgrades to the bridge control house. Planned improvements include flood resilience measures such as relocating and protecting electrical equipment, installing flood doors and applying waterproof finishes. Once the structure is returned and lifted back into position, the lifting mechanism will undergo final commissioning, testing and calibration before the bridge reopens.

Mr Garrigan added: "Drawing on our experience of delivering complex bridge refurbishment schemes, we're combining specialist lifting operations, off-site repair techniques and targeted highway improvements to extend the life of this asset and improve safety for all users. It's a highly collaborative project that demonstrates the benefits of thoughtful engineering and careful planning."

Esh Construction is currently working on the refurbishment of Tyne Bridge in Newcastle upon Tyne and Drypool Bridge in Hull. The company has also previously partnered with East Riding of Yorkshire Council on restoration projects at Stamford Bridge and Bubwith Bridge.

Weel Bridge is expected to reopen later this summer once refurbishment work has been completed.