Work will take ‘longer than originally anticipated’

Work to repair damage on the Kilrea Bridge in County Londonderry is to begin, but will take “longer” than expected, the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) has said.

The bridge was closed on 20 September after extensive cracking was discovered in a retaining wall.

Work to repair the damage will start on Monday 10 November.

In a statement, a DfI spokesperson said: “This will be a 14-week scheme, which is longer than originally anticipated, due to the difficult ground conditions on site.”

Kilrea is on the western bank of the River Bann and is connected to County Antrim by this single-lane bridge.

The bridge was originally constructed in 1783 and is a listed structure. It has been closed previously for works.

DfI said, during the recent closure, they have carried out “a ground investigation, developed a technical solution and tendered for a specialist contractor to allow the road to reopen” and are “pleased” that a specialist contractor has now been appointed.

Some local businesses have complained that the closure of the bridge has had an impacted on sales, and the department said that frustration in the community is “understandable”.

Repairing the bridge will involve using specialist equipment to drill between two walls “beneath” the road and tie-bars have to be used to “structurally connect the retaining walls on either side of the road”, DfI said.

They added that the contractor has advised that the “presence of large boulders will make it more difficult for the drilling operation”.

“As a result, it will take longer to drill, and the installation of each tie-bar will be more time-consuming.”