A Bridge too far…………..

Posted on 9 Comments

A bridge too far……………………

As a Cycle Demonstration Town,Darlington cycle users can have a hard time.We have cycle lanes,cycle routes,a cycle hire scheme and obstacles.It is the obstacles that give us the hard time.One of these obstacles is a railway bridge on the Haughton Road.It is on an arterial cycle route connecting the town centre to the Eastern Transport Corridor.The railway bridge is also on the main route to Darlington College and the newly opened College and sees a lot of traffic,vehicular,pedestrian and cyclists.

Approaching the bridge,on either side,is a cycle path.Clearly sign posted at the end/start of the cycle paths are “cyclists dismount” signs and “end of cycle route” signs.This does not prevent some cyclists using the footpaths over the bridge or using the road as shown in this short video clip.
 

9 thoughts on “A Bridge too far…………..”

  2. "not for long(we live in hope)"
    The pedestrian/cycle bridge should have been in place whenthe college opened in 2008,certainly the Local Motion maps showed that it would be in place "may 2008".How long is "not for long"?.
    Given the amount of money available for cycling infrastructure that Darlington Borough Council has spent,it should be an awful lot better,safer and easier to cycle in this town.

  3. There are several issues that need to be taken “On Board” concerning the delay in this bridge installation. The cycle/ footbridge will be largest fibre reinforced plastic footbridge for use on the rail network in the UK making it Unique.
    At the planning stage Network Rail had to approve the design of the structure to be resistant to vandalism and fire. Also another aspect of the design needing further research was the effect on the bridge due to passing trains at speed underneath it.
    All this occurred late in 2007 and the bridge was taken to be OK for construction mid 2008 as long as the two main problems listed above were solved. I believe that not all were sorted by this time and construction was delayed.
    Then another problem occurred, the company undertaking the construction folded with all its legal complications. Whether or not partial construction had occurred I do not know but suspect that it did as a spokesperson from the council made this comment in 2009:-
    “Some initial construction work has been undertaken on the bridge, with an innovative design that uses a fibre reinforced polymer to ease its placement over the busy railway line, and the council is in continuing discussion with all relevant parties to ensure its successful completion. The contractor advises that a start on site is expected in 2010.”

  5. In 2010, I was told that the bridge was finished and sat in a construction yard ready to be fitted.

    Every spring for the last five(?) years, the bridge has been due to be installed "this summer". At some point in the year, it becomes "next summer".

  6. Coming from town, using the cycle path on the side of the road where the college is, there are no signs telling cyclists to dismount at the bridge.

  7. "Coming from town, using the cycle path on the side of the road where the college is, there are no signs telling cyclists to dismount at the bridge."

    There were. I wonder if they've been nicked?

  9. The bridge ended up in sections in storage awaiting a final decision from darlington council and carillion wether to go ahead. The bridge was 80% complete with just the site connections of the modules. Due to the potential problems of installing a composite bridge and especially ensuring tight QA controls for site bonding the installation was looking at £400k im not sure if this included cranage. Last i heard was the bridge was to be disposed of but that was maybe 2012/13. There have been some successful composite bridges installed in the UK but this one seemed to fail at every hurdle.

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