COUNCIL chiefs are warning of “lots of disruption” when a bridge that carries 48,000 vehicles a day shrinks from four lanes to two during a major refurbishment this summer.

Durham County Council is planning a £1m “essential maintenance” project for Durham City’s heavily congested Milburngate Bridge, the busiest non-trunk road bridge in the whole county.

Two lanes will be closed for up to seven weeks, leaving single-file traffic in each direction, and the bridge will be closed entirely overnight for four nights during the works.

The Northern Echo:

Highways chiefs say the scheme is essential and a once-in-20-years undertaking.

A package of measures aimed at minimising logjams is planned but John Reed, the council’s head of technical services, conceded there would be “a lot of disruption”.

“We’ve planned the works to minimise disruption as far as possible.

“But we acknowledge that the works will still cause disruption. We want to make people aware so that they can plan their journeys accordingly. We’ll be doing everything we can to complete the works as quickly as possible,” he said.

The bridge opened with three lanes in 1967, finally diverting traffic through Durham away from the medieval Framwelgate Bridge, cobbled Silver Street and Durham Market Place, with its much-loved police box.

It was widened to four narrow lanes in 1989 and last repaired in 1996, meaning it needs major maintenance works including concrete and waterproofing repairs, resurfacing, new bridge joints and drainage improvements.

The installation of new streetlights and pedestrian barriers has been added to the project to avoid further disruption in future.

Council chiefs have been talking to the emergency services, public transport providers, schools, Durham University and others and decided to carry out the work seven days a week from 7am to 10pm starting on Sunday, July 12 – the day after Durham Miners’ Gala – and hopefully finishing before the August Bank Holiday.

They decided against closing the bridge entirely, which would have speeded up the project, for the sake of motorists and against 24-hour working for the sake of local residents.

The work will be done in three phases, requiring four overnight closures, and the footpath on one side of the bridge or the other will remain open throughout the project.

The Claypath and Walkergate slip roads will likely be closed.

Signs advising motorists to choose alternative routes will be erected as far afield as Chester-le-Street and Scotch Corner.

There will be regular updates on progress via social media and possibly a live webcam at durham.gov.uk The project is subject to approval by the council’s cabinet in March.