M48 Severn Bridge lane closures for cable checks
Seven month programme of lane closures to start next week.
Highways England starts a 7 month programme of lane closures next week on the M48 Severn Bridge to carry out inspections of the suspension cable.
The inspection works will involve the closure of lane one westbound between 7am on Monday, 14 March and 5pm on Friday, 2 September, with lane one eastbound closed from 9.30am on Monday, 16 May until 9.30am, Monday, 17 October.
Chris Pope, Project Manager for Highways England, said:
To carry out these cable inspections and to ensure the safety of both the travelling public and our workforce, it will be necessary to put these long term lane closures in place.
During the period of lane closures, vehicles over 2.9 metres wide will be prohibited from using the M48 Severn Bridge, and the bridge will also be closed totally over 4 weekends to enable the lifting of an inspection gantry to a high level on the suspension cable. The first full closure is planned for the weekend of 16-17 April.
Mr Pope added:
The inspections are vital to allow us to understand the current condition of the suspension cables and confirm that the measures that we implemented over the last 10 years have been effective in ensuring the long term viability of the bridge and the safety of its users.
We understand this work may cause some inconvenience and disruption but we will make every effort to ensure the impact on drivers is kept to a minimum.
We are working in conjunction with Severn River Crossing Plc, and the weekend closures have been planned to avoid any major events both sides of the bridge.
Diversion routes across the M4 Second Severn Crossing will be in place during the duration of the weekend closures.
General enquiries
Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.
Media enquiries
Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.