A bridge in Preston that has been repeatedly damaged by long vehicles is set to be slapped with a new restriction designed to protect it from any further harm.
The structure, on Blackleach Lane near Catforth, crosses the Lancaster Canal and has undergone what Lancashire County Council describes as “hundreds of thousands of pounds [of] repairs” after being struck 11 times in the past five years.
The authority is now planning to impose a maximum vehicle length of seven metres – or 23 feet – on bridge traffic. Exceptions would be made for the emergency services and Preston City Council bin lorries.
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A formal public consultation has now been launched into the proposal, but the county council says the views of locals have already been sought and were “generally favourable”.
The narrow rural route runs from Catforth Road to the junction with Lea Lane and Rosemary Lane, passing over the M55 and bypassing Swillbrook.
The single-file bridge bends slightly to the left on the Catforth side and sharply to the right on the Salwick side for Preston-bound traffic – an arrangement that has been blamed for the clutch of canalside collisions.
A report from County Hall highways bosses states: “Analysis of the path taken by various sized vehicles when crossing the bridge has shown that vehicles greater than seven metres in length cannot pass over the bridge without a high risk of damaging the structure.
“This is due to the alignment of the approaches to the bridge and the angle that the bridge crosses the canal.”
The document adds that the incidents have created “a safety risk for road, towpath and canal users”, as well as causing “very significant disruption to local residents and road users due to frequent road closures and diversions”.
Anybody wishing to respond to the public consultation into the length limit should email tro-consultation@lancashire.gov.uk, quoting ref:LSG4/104266/AFR, by 3rd July or write to: The Director of Law and Governance, Lancashire County Council, County Hall, Fishergate, Preston PR1 8XJ.
