Orbit Footbridge to close before Christmas

ORBIT FOOTBRIDGE will close temporarily on Friday 20 December until further notice for safety reasons.

The footbridge, behind Queen’s Road car park, has been in need of strengthening and refurbishment since it reopened following a temporary closure for Reading Festival.

The withdrawal of previously announced Department for Transport funding, which had been earmarked by the Council for the strengthening works, means it has now been postponed until funding is identified.

It is estimated that £1.5m is needed to complete the Orbit Footbridge refurbishment and Phase 7 of the Kennetside retaining wall programme, which has also been postponed at this time due to the removal of the funding.

The refurbishment of Orbit Footbridge will now be included in the Council’s forward bridges programme, with the delivery of this dependent on a Department for Transport funding award for local transport plan (LTP) Bridges and Carriageways. An announcement on that funding is expected in the spring.

Built around 1990 and mainly a steel structure with wooden decking boards, Orbit Footbridge has deteriorated over the years and needs to have the decking boards replaced and the metal elements of the bridge repainted.

Whilst the bridge is closed, residents are being encouraged to instead use well-lit public highway routes such as Duke Street as an alternative, with signed diversions set to be in place. With this being a popular route into town for many of its student population, the Council has also liaised with the University of Reading to ensure that messaging is shared.

The required work had formed part of an overall £4m, two-year investment in bridges and other structures around Reading. This included the replacement of the King’s Meadow footbridge to a wider, modern structure to benefit pedestrians and cyclists, which was completed this summer. More recently, vital repair work to High Bridge on Duke Street was completed, having begun in the summer to restore the deteriorating parapets of the 18^th century structure.

Karen Rowland, Lead Councillor for Environmental Services and Community Safety, said:

“It is obviously a disappointment that the scheduled refurbishment and repair of Orbit Footbridge has had to be postponed, and in the interim with the protection and safety of our residents and pedestrians being our primary concern we’ve taken the regrettable decision to close the footbridge. We hope residents will understand, and we are fortunate that there are nearby alternatives for foot traffic through the area until the bridge is able to be repaired. It is very much in our plans to complete this work when funding allows as soon as possible.

“Already this year we’ve invested in some important and well received bridge improvements, including the new wider and modern King’s Meadow Footbridge, and vital work to improve and protect the nearby Grade II Listed High Bridge at Duke Street which was restored sympathetically.

“This does also highlight the challenges around funds for such maintenance and the necessity for essential funding to allow us to maintain our bridges and structures. We will always prioritise “safety first” with all our bridges and we will continue to work hard to improve structures like these for residents.”