A NEW town centre pedestrian bridge is set to be lifted into place after bad weather hampered plans to install it last month.

Parkgate bridge will link the Central Park development with Darlington Railway Station and is being funded jointly by the Tees Valley Combined Authority and Darlington Borough Council.

The bridge work will take place on Monday night, November 12, subject to weather.

Parkgate will be closed in both directions between 11.30pm and 6am. Signed diversions will be in place for all vehicles, including buses. The last two journeys on Arriva services 2, 13A and 13B will divert via Hundens Lane and Haughton Road.

Pedestrians will be directed into the station concourse and over the footbridge. Cyclists can follow the road diversion or carry bikes over the station footbridge.

There is no reasonable alternative route for disabled people, so a wheelchair accessible taxi will be available to anyone who needs it to avoid the closure.

Councillor Nick Wallis, cabinet member for leisure and local environment, said: “The project is progressing well and it will be great to see the new bridge lifted into place.

“It’s a large piece of infrastructure that will add to the revitalisation of the Parkgate area and make connections between the station and Central Park easier and safer for a large number of people.”

Once the bridge is in place works will continue to complete improvements to Adelaide Street and St John’s Place. The new route is expected to open to the public in the coming weeks.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “It’s fantastic to see that we’re now days away from having a safer, easier entrance to Darlington station, which complements our wider plans to completely redevelop the entire station.

“This improvement will improve access to Central Park which is set to become a key asset in our emerging life sciences sector. Improving this connection will throw open the doors for future investment and economic growth on the site, which will benefit not only Darlington but the wider Tees Valley.”

Discussions are in place with a train operator to include a ‘cycling channel’ on the bridge, to make the bridge easier for cyclists to use. However, there is no confirmed timescale for this work at present.