Background

Bromsgrove was a focus for us, as making the transport network more efficient, particularly at peak travel times, will help to reduce congestion.

As Bromsgrove had a very limited infrastructure to support walking and cycling journeys, this forced some local people to drive short distances, adding to congested routes.

The £3.4million improvements for walking and cycling routes formed part of the wider transport and highways plan for the area and delivered an additional six recognised walking and cycling pathways. The works also included improving other recognised cycleways across Bromsgrove.

The new routes provided a new and improved link between the railway station, town centre, schools, as well as employment and residential areas.

The plan

There are many improvements planned as part of the investment. Proposed plans include:

• an additional six walking and cycling routes which will create a more robust network throughout Bromsgrove
• upgrade of existing controlled crossings on Kidderminster Road and Market Street being made into toucan* crossings and improving the toucan crossing on Birmingham Road by making the path wider.
• paths in some areas will be widened to accommodate use by pedestrians and cyclists
• the majority of the cycle routes will remain on quieter, low traffic roads, with a small number of shared use paths being introduced
• path and road resurfacing to improve journey comfort
• new LED lighting on pathways
• clear signage that will indicate the length of time to walk and cycle to areas of the town centre to promote walking and cycling
• dropping of kerbs and the
• introduction of tactile paving at crossing points to improve accessibility

*A toucan crossing is a type of pedestrian crossing  that also allows bicycles to be ridden across as the same time as pedestrians as they are wider than a pelican crossing or puffin crossing.

Sabrina Bridge in Worcester was first opened in 1992. Since then the footbridge has been incredibly well used, providing a link between the city centre to businesses, amenities and university buildings on the west side of the river.

The refurbishment of this bridge was a high priority for the Council, in particular the replacement of the bridge deck itself.

The new bridge deck is a composite material. The material was specifically chosen as it performs much better in wintery conditions than the current wooden slats.

The new decking will also provide more stability to the structure of the bridge. Works were completed at the end of 2020.

Project information

The timing of the work on Sabrina Bridge 

The refurbishment of this bridge is a high priority for the County Council, in particular the replacement of the bridge deck itself. It is key for the deck replacement be carried out prior to the winter months.

Due to other priority infrastructure works taking place and the severe restrictions on the availability and supply of materials, such as steel due to lockdown, this is the first opportunity that we have had to get the works underway.

We have liaised very closely with the University of Worcester, racecourse, rowing clubs and local businesses on the plans for this scheme, along with various other local stakeholders.

The impact on local traffic 

All of our major infrastructure projects across the county are carefully planned and coordinated.

The refurbishment of Sabrina Bridge is an important project for Worcester. We acknowledge that the works will cause some disruption within the Hylton Road area, but we’re doing everything we can to minimise this. This includes manually operating the traffic lights to ensure the best flow of traffic possible through the area.

The main works needing traffic management in St John’s are expected to be completed by the end of October.

Why we need lane and road closures on both sides of the bridge 

Lane and road closures are required on both sides of the bridge, as cranes need to be positioned on both sides to undertake the bridge lift.

The bridge will be removed in sections by one crane, whilst the other two cranes hold the remaining bridge in position to ensure it does not collapse.

Two cranes will be located on Hylton Road, while the main crane will be in Grandstand Road.

Due to the size, weight and reach of the crane located in Grandstand Road, it will mean this road is fully closed during the operation.

Part of the cranes located in Hylton Road will need to be positioned on the road itself, this is why we must close a lane during the works.

Pedestrian and cyclist diversion during the works 

The main diversion will be over Worcester Bridge. We will have signage at various points throughout the city to ensure that people travelling on foot, on their bike or in their car are picked up early and avoid the area where possible.

The surface of the bridge 

The new bridge deck is a composite material. The material has been specifically chosen as it performs much better in wintery conditions than the current wooden slats.

The new decking will also provide more stability to the structure of the bridge.

Planned reopening of the bridge 

The bridge is now closed due to the works where the old main span is removed and replaced with the new bridge deck.

It is expected that the bridge is back open before the end of the year.

Project completion 

The full refurbishment works are scheduled for completion by the end of 2020, subject to weather conditions such as heavy rain or strong winds.

Latest news

10 May 2022 Worcester’s Sabrina Bridge wins top civil engineering award

Sabrina Bridge in Worcester has won a top civil engineering award for improvements made as part of its major refurbishment.

The bridge was announced as the winner of the West Midlands Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE) Small Project of the Year, a category for projects costing up to £2 million.

The major refurbishment was completed in March 2021 and included the complete replacement of the bridge-span steelwork, a brand-new composite bridge deck, repainted handrails, ramps, stairs, and main mast, and the introduction of dampers to reduce bridge movement.

24 February 2021 Finishing touches for Sabrina Bridge

Sabrina Bridge in Worcester will receive its finishing touches next week.

Following extensive works to install the new main span of the bridge, which had been removed as part of a major refurbishment, Sabrina Bridge reopened at the end of January.

The final works include installation of bridge dampers which will reduce movement of the bridge, completion of works for the step access on both sides of the river and landscaping works.

The installation work was unable to be done ahead of the opening last month due to a delay in receiving the parts from the supplier due to Covid-19 related issues.

To enable these works, the bridge will be closed for up to five days from Monday 1 March.

28 January 2021 Sabrina Bridge set to re-open

Sabrina Bridge in Worcester will re-open tomorrow (29th January) at midday, following works to install the new main span of the bridge, which had been removed as part of a major refurbishment. The bridge was ready to open last Friday but remained closed due to the local flooding.

The work to improve Sabrina Bridge is an important part of Worcestershire County Council’s programme to improve walking and cycling routes in and around the city of Worcester and beyond.

Following the opening of the bridge, some works will continue on Hylton Road to complete the landscaping. Works will also be needed at a later stage to install the bridge dampers, which will add additional stabilisation to the bridge. The bridge will need to be closed for 2-3 days for their installation. More information will be available on this closure on the County Council website and social media channels nearer the time.

11 January 2021

In late December, works to reinstall Sabrina Bridge following its extensive offsite refurbishment were postponed due to high river levels preventing safe completion of works on the main span crossing the River Severn. As the river level has now dropped, we are able to resume works this week to complete the reinstallation of the bridge. We’ll confirm the opening date as soon as possible.

21 December 2020

Our contractor has been hard to get the bridge re-opened for Christmas. High river levels mean that the final operations cannot be carried out safely. The site will be secured now for Christmas and work will resume at the start of January. We would have liked to have re-opened Sabrina Bridge along with the new Hams Way Footbridge, which we successfully opened last week, however, despite everyone’s best efforts it just isn’t possible.

13 October 2020

The cranes are in place and preparations are well underway to remove the first section of bridge. A reminder that the whole removal will be captured on a time-lapse camera.

8 October 2020

As part of the major refurbishment of Sabrina Bridge in Worcester, the main span of the bridge is planned to be removed next week.

The process to remove the bridge will commence on Monday 12th October and from this point the bridge will be fully closed until the refurbishment is complete and the bridge it is lifted back into place in November.

Works are already underway on site to prepare the bridge for its removal. Three cranes will be moved into place early next week to enable the bridge to be removed with two cranes being positioned on Hylton Road and a larger crane on Grandstand Road.

11 September 2020

As part of the major refurbishment of Sabrina Bridge, there will be the need for some lane and road closures during the works and the bridge will be closed whilst the refurbishments take place off site.

From week beginning 14th September, there will be a lane closure and off-peak temporary traffic lights on Hylton Road to allow for delivery of materials.

A permanent lane closure will then come into force from Monday 21 September for the remainder of the works.

10 September 2020 Work starting on major refurbishment of Sabrina Bridge

Sabrina Bridge in Worcester is set to undergo its first major refurbishment in 28 years.

The major refurbishment, which is being carried out by Worcestershire County Council initially started this week, with the setting up of the site.

There will then be various phases of work over the coming months, which will see scaffolding go up on the bridge, the main span of the bridge will then be removed to be taken away for the refurbishment, before being put back into place later this year.

This refurbishment is a key part of the Council’s infrastructure programme, which is receiving more investment than it has in 50 years. 

Improvement works are now completed on the 1905 historic Stanford bridge, located over the river Teme in the village of Stanford.

The bridge, restricted to pedestrians and cyclists, is an early example of reinforced concrete work and is a Listed Grade II Monument.

Repairs were required to improve the condition of the structure and included a full refurbishment of the main span and brickwork flood arches. 

The works, delivered by Worcestershire County Council with their contractor and Designer, Ringway and Jacobs respectively, have not significantly changed the visual look of the bridge with materials matching the existing as close to its original form as possible.

The main challenge was delivering the work under the three-tonne weight limit, as the weight of the scaffold hanging off the bridge posed a risk to the structure. 

So, a phased approach was taken, scaffolding the two end abutments first, transferring the weight off the main span, followed by the middle section. This, together with alternative material such as aluminium, kept the weight to a minimum. The risk of falling debris was prevented by a full encapsulation of the scaffolding.

The concrete bridge replaced a single span iron structure, a typical example of the transition of Iron bridges to the newer concept of reinforced concrete. The bases of piers visible during low water levels are likely to be those of the brick bridge of the early 18th century.

The earliest recorded bridge in this location was a wooden one built in 1548.