A project aimed at maintaining the life of the 200 year old listed bridge that carries the Shillingford to Wallingford road across the River Thames will be starting soon.
Oxfordshire County Council will embark on the Shillingford Bridge project on March 5. In this first stage of work a set of traffic lights will be installed which will allow the traffic lane across the bridge to be reduced to just one central lane, initially marked by white lining.The project will last for around five weeks and for most of this period the bridge will remain open to traffic with temporary traffic signals in operation.
However for around five days from March 26 a full closure of the bridge will be required. A signed diversion route via the A4074, A4130 and Winterbrook Bridge will be put into operation.
The Council will revisit the bridge in the Autumn to conduct waterproofing work and to construct footways across the bridge on each side of the road. In 2008 a third stage of work is also planned, involving extensive stone work repairs to various areas of the bridge.