Kendal's new footbridge is here!
Cumbria County Council welcomed the new Gooseholme footbridge into Kendal this week.
The county council, together with its contractor Story Contracting Ltd, brought the bridge into Kendal, which arrived in the Story Contracting compound on Gooseholme Park on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The 55-tonne bridge arrived in four pieces which will have a span of 42 meters when it is in place. The bridge will be assembled on site, ready for the bridge lift on Wednesday 20 July, weather dependant.
A large crane weighing 1,000 tonnes will arrive at Gooseholme Park on Monday 18 and Tuesday 19 July for assembly.
Due to weight constraints on some routes, the crane, will be driven under police escort and will come into Kendal using this route:
- M6 leaving at junction 37
- Travel along the A684
- Then U856 through Sandylands
- Towards A685 Appleby Road
- Going via A6 Longpool to arrive at Gooseholme Park.
The county council has said that some short-term parking restrictions will need to be implemented on the U856 Sandylands, due to the size of the crane. Story Contracting Ltd have sent out letters to everyone living in the affected areas with further details.
The bridge lift will take place on Wednesday 20 July, weather permitting. As there will be limited viewing opportunities, due to the bridge lift’s location the public will have the opportunity to watch the lift on our website. If, however, the public do intend to visit the area, the best place to watch is Gooseholme Park or on the grassed area near New Road.
In order that the bridge lift can be carried out safely and efficiently, the county council ask the public not to encroach beyond any site barriers nor access the river or river embankments for viewing positions. It is also advised that people do not stand on Miller Bridge, due to the narrow footpaths.
The council are also reminding the public, that they can have their say, on the future name of the footbridge. The shortlisted suggestions are:
• Gooseholme Bridge
• Jubilee Bridge
• The Kent Bridge
Online voting can be found here https://www.cumbria.gov.uk/gooseholme/project.asp, which will close on Thursday 14 July at midnight.
Cllr Keith Little, Cumbria County Council cabinet member for Highways and Transport, said:
“I am delighted that the bridge has arrived safely and will now be assembled. The bridge lift is scheduled for Wednesday 20 July and will be a memorable day for everyone.
“I would like to thank the Kendal community for their patience and support for this project, and we all look forward to the bridge opening in the autumn”.
“It will be interesting to see what the final bridge name will be, and I would like to encourage people to vote, and have a say in what they think it should be called.
“We will be filming the bridge lift for our website and social media channels; however, if anyone wants to witness the bridge lift, we ask them to use caution and common sense when positioning themselves.”
For more information about this project, please go to https://www.cumbria.gov.uk/gooseholme/project.asp
