Summerseat bridge re-opens five years after Storm Eva

Kay Street bridge in Summerseat will be officially re-opened tomorrow (Friday 18 June) after being rebuilt following the Boxing Day floods of 2015.

The bridge all but collapsed, along with the Waterside Inn which stood on it, when Storm Eva brought devastation to the borough and forced 800 people to flee their homes.

It has been a huge engineering project to rebuild the bridge, and one beset by difficulties including land acquisition, a tragic incident, poor ground conditions, bad weather, Covid restrictions and even the fish breeding season.

Councillor Eamonn O’Brien, leader of Bury Council, said: “It’s been a long process, but finally the residents of Summerseat will have a fully working second bridge to the village. Our engineers have coped admirably with the numerous challenges that faced them during the rebuild.”

Tomorrow’s reopening ceremony will be led at 11am by Mrs Dorothy Gunther, former Mayor of Bury and a long-time Summerseat resident.

Timeline:

Storm Eva hit Bury and the North West on Boxing Day 2015. After a month of rain, the whole borough was flooded, especially in Redvales and Radcliffe where nearly 800 residents had to leave their homes.

The Waterside Inn collapsed and nearly took the bridge with it. This left the bridge with no physical barrier to the side where the Waterside Inn stood requiring the bridge to be closed to vehicles. Pedestrian access over the bridge was reinstated in Easter 2016.

The council carried out remedial works to repair the damaged bridge to include a parapet and also to widen it for the provision of a separate footway.

A Compulsory Purchase Order was needed to facilitate the works, which was only secured following a lengthy legal process. Engineering works started immediately upon completion of the legal process.

When the works commenced in May/June 2019, pedestrian access over the bridge was suspended as the bridge was being worked upon. To compensate, shuttle transport was put on to assist residents who relied on public transport and to allow pupils to get to school.

Early works were beset by problems. High water levels flooded out the working area in the river frequently and, upon excavation of the riverbed, bedrock which was expected to be found at 2 metres below ground level wasn’t located until at nearly 6 metres depth in places.

This necessitated a change in the design, and required the continued closure of the bridge to pedestrians as it would be vulnerable to being undermined due to high water events and could fail at any time without warning.

Works were suspended in November 2019 as the poor weather had prevented sufficient progress. to be able to works to get out of the water.

Environment Agency rules then prevented work taking place in the water due to the fish breeding season, which ended in June 2020. It meant that work could only be done in the water for four months of the year.

More poor ground conditions necessitated the piles to be driven deeper and further bad weather repeatedly washed out the site.

The impact of Covid-19 on businesses, working practices, supply chains and labour market has also been felt.

Works had to be suspended in February this year in the aftermath of the tragic gas explosion in nearby Railway Street.

Work is now complete on the new bridge, which has cost a total of £1.6 million.

ENDS

Press release issued: 17 June 2021.

Picture: The new Kay Street bridge.