B4176 closed after lorry collides with bridge at Stableford
The B4176 is closed between Sutton Maddock and Rudge Heath after a lorry collided with Broad Bridge overnight.
Emergency services were called to the incident at Stableford at just before 4am.
The lorry collided with and demolished the upstream parapet of the bridge. The lorry then rolled off the carriageway and down the embankment, landing on its side.
The driver of the lorry was taken to hospital.
Four fire appliances including the Environmental Protection Unit and the Rescue Tender were mobilised from Bridgnorth, Telford Central, Tweedale and Wellington.
Crews used winches to stabilise the vehicle and the Environment Unit equipment from Tweedale to prevent any contamination of the River Worfe.
Broad Bridge is a three span Grade II Listed structure with a priority single lane traffic system over the structure. The bridge comprises sandstone arches, abutments, piers, spandrels, wingwalls and parapets.
The road is still closed and a local diversion is in place, whilst council engineers and contractors arrange for concrete barriers to be installed to safeguard the unprotected edge of the bridge and install temporary traffic light control.
As the bridge is listed Shropshire Council’s historic environment team will need to be consulted before repair work can begin. Stone will also be needed to match the existing stone that has been damaged.
Shropshire Council says the remedial works will be done in Spring 2018 due to the statutory consents required, the procurement of materials and because working with lime mortar is not suited to cold, freezing and wet conditions. We will provide an update nearer the time when works are planned to start on site.
The cost of the parapet repair is estimated to be around £50,000 and will be recoverable from the vehicle owner’s insurance company.
