25/3/2010 - Transport minister praises Cumbrian flood recovery effort

The progress made in restoring highways links in Cumbria following the November floods has been praised by the Transport Minister Sadiq Khan MP.

Cockermouth's Main Street and the town's Derwent and Cocker bridges were opened to traffic yesterday and two more important road bridges, Ouse bridge and Isel bridge, will open tomorrow. A key footbridge at Portinscale used by many walkers visiting the iconic fells at Cat Bells will also be opened in time for Easter. 

Ouse bridge on the shores of Bassenthwaite and Isel bridge near Cockermouth are re-opening shortly after 9am tomorrow (Friday March 26). And Portinscale footbridge near Keswick is due to re-open in time for the Easter weekend to coincide with the arrival of tourists and day trippers over the busy holiday season.

Good progress is also being made on the temporary road bridge in Workington, with construction currently running over a month ahead of schedule. Round the clock working at key stages has meant the bridge is being built in record time. A firm opening date will be confirmed once it is clear how long the remaining work will take, but the intention is to inform people when the bridge will open as soon as possible. 

Transport Minister Sadiq Khan MP said: "An incredible amount of progress has been made in restoring Cumbria’s transport infrastructure since the devastating floods last November and I have been enormously impressed by the commitment shown by everyone involved. 

"It is fantastic news that visitors to the area over the Easter weekend will be able to access its beautiful countryside and this achievement is testament to hard work of local residents, businesses and councillors.

"Since the floods my department has provided an extra £6 million to get Cumbria back up and running. This includes funding for temporary road and footbridges over the Derwent as well as a shuttle rail service between Workington and Maryport. We will continue to work closely with the county council to make sure that they are getting all the assistance they need."

Ouse bridge has undergone around £80,000 of repairs to damage caused by the sheer volume and force of the water that hit west Cumbria, while Isel bridge has been closed for traffic management reasons to prevent congestion on roads not suited to large numbers of vehicles.

Over the weekend repairs to Portinscale footbridge –a popular route for walkers –are due to be completed. Repairs on the approach to the bridge, to make it suitable again for pedestrian use, will then be completed next week so the bridge can re-open for the Easter weekend.

Cllr Tony Markley, Cumbria County Council’s cabinet member for highways, said: "Fantastic progress has been made in the multi-agency recovery from the floods –which let’s not forget were only four months ago.

"While fully getting over the damage of the floods is going to take considerable time, an enormous amount has already been achieved in terms of getting the county’s road and transport infrastructure back up and running and the re-opening of all these bridges is clear evidence of that.

"Flood recovery will continue to be a number one priority for Cumbria County Council until the process is fully complete."

With the re-opening of Ouse and Isel bridges the only road bridge in west Cumbria that remains closed, apart from those that collapsed, is the minor Scarness bridge on the U2181 near Bassenthwaite Lake.

In South Lakeland the collapsed Bouthray and damaged Backbarrow bridges remain closed. A repair schedule is currently being determined for Scarness and Backbarrow bridges and Cumbria Highways is working towards having them re-opened by the end of July.

For an update on all bridges visit http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/floods/default.asp

ENDS

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