CONTRACTORS are hopeful that a replacement crossing will have finally spanned the River Eamont at Pooley Bridge by tomorrow or Monday and that it will be open to traffic by the Easter deadline.

Villagers and businesses were left completely cut off from the western shore of Ullswater after the original historic bridge, which had stood there for more than 250 years, was dramatically washed away during Storm Desmond in December.

It was one of a number of Eden’s bridges which bore the full force of the flooding, with neighbouring Eamont Bridge still closed because of safety concerns.

On Monday, a temporary replacement structure arrived at Pooley Bridge, and it has gradually taken shape since then.

Throughout the week, it slowly began to span the river as new sections were added, and tomorrow it is expected that the “nose section” will be guided into place with the help of a large crane on the eastern side of the river.

John Slee, project manager with Story Contracting Ltd, who is originally from Penrith, said his team had been on site since the beginning of the month and work was on track for the bridge to be opened to traffic by Easter.

He said the nose section was not part of the final construction and added: “The final sections of the bridge will be built on the west bank and pushed over. It is hoped that the bridge will be jacked into its final position by the following weekend — 5th and 6th March.”

A final roadworks design, to lift the carriageway up to the level of the new bridge, was finalised this week and it is expected that the roadworks will start once the new bridge is firmly fixed in place, which will take two weeks to complete.

Mr. Slee said: “Progress to date has been good with a high level of confidence that the temporary bridge will be open by Easter. We are as confident as we can be at this stage. As a local lad it’s good to be involved in something like this.”

Jonathan Smith, Cumbria County Council’s senior manager for network management, said when completed the bridge would fully comply to Department for Transport specifications — including the ability to support vehicles weighing up to 44 tonnes — as well as a footway for pedestrians.

He added: “It provides exactly what was there before and it gives us time to give proper external engagement over what a permanent replacement will look like.”

He said the aim to get the bridge completed by Easter had been both a “courageous and challenging” timetable but it was good to see the structure starting to take shape.

Hilary Carrick (Con, Penrith North), chairwoman of the county council’s local committee for Eden, said a lot had been achieved in a short space of time and added: “We are doing this incredibly fast compared with other similar projects that we’ve done in the past.”

Keith Little (Lab, Maryport South), the county council’s highways portfolio holder, agreed it was good to see the bridge on site and added: “People have felt disconnected — it’s important to get communities connected up.”

At Eamont Bridge, an initial dive inspection established that a significant proportion of the core of the bridge’s central pier had been washed out, affecting the strength of the structure, but the full extent of the damage could not be established because it was unsafe to enter the void due to danger from falling masonry.

Mr Smith said Eamont Bridge had remained a problem, with high water levels, as well as a fast flowing river, preventing divers making a full inspection of the damage.

He said they were hoping to use a underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to fully inspect the damage.

“The solution is not a replacement bridge it is a repair but the water is 4ft deep at the damage site,” he said. “It is moving at more than 2m per second and it is dangerous for divers to work. We are really conscious of the disruption to road users — Eamont Bridge is our top priority to get functionality restored now.”

Yesterday engineers were able to send an ROV under the water to conduct a detailed video and sonar survey of the hole in the pier, to enable specialist bridge engineers working for Capita to design an appropriate repair.

And by early next week engineers are also hoping to be able to install a cofferdam, to create a dry working area, around the pier but a spokesman said this was still dependent on river conditions.

Mr Smith added: “As a result, while we are reasonably confident about how many days’ work will be required, we cannot be certain when repairs will be completed. Our intention is to get the work done as soon as possible, but we will not compromise on safety.”

Eden councillor Ian Chambers (Con, Eamont) said he represented those living in the wider area and residents could not understand why it was taking so long to repair the bridge. He said: “There are a lot of people that are fed up with it.”

From The Cumberland & Westmorland Herald on Saturday, February 27, 2016.