Cumbria’s 1,800 bridges under “urgent review”

Date: 23/11/2009

An urgent review of Cumbria’s 1,800 bridges was ordered to assess damage this weekend after last week’s floods collapsed six area bridges.

Another 36 bridges were closed on Sunday beyond the six collapsed, prompting officials to warn Cumbria residents to avoid all non-essential travel in the affected region.

A Cumbria Council report said the district’s 1,800 bridges still needed to be inspected by specialists and “structural engineers are prioritising their work by looking at those suspected to be at the most risk in the worst affected areas”.

Workington was reportedly split in two after its final surviving bridge sank and became cracked in its central arch.

The town’s other bridge collapsed on Friday, killing a police constable and destroying a footpath along the river.

On Monday morning, 18 schools were closed and some 60 people remain in emergency shelters in the region.

Environment secretary Hilary Benn said the flooding in Cumbria was caused by a “phenomenal amount” of rain in a Sky News report, and noted the Department for Transport would assist funding required to fix any of the region’s damaged bridges.

Mr Benn reported that the ministry would give £1 million to clean up after floods, which the local government can prioritise as it sees fit.