Weight limit planned for South Ribble bridge
Concerns were raised about its unrestricted use
A weight limit is set to be imposed on a bridge in South Ribble after concerns were raised about its unrestricted use.
The structure, on Flag Lane in Penwortham, spans the West Coast Mainline, which carries trains in and out of Preston.
The single file bridge, in a rural area known as ‘The Lanes’, is owned by Network Rail, which recently carried out an assessment of the site.
Lancashire County Council is now planning to introduce a 7.5-tonne limit on vehicles using the route – at Network Rail’s request – after “concerns were identified regarding the railway bridge structure”, a report by highways officials states.
The restriction will run for 90 metres south west of the junction with Werneth Close and will not affect the rest of Flag Lane. Heavier vehicles would have to bypass the bridge by using Bee Lane, which runs parallel to it.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service approached Network Rail for further details about the nature of its concerns over the bridge, but had not received a response by the time of publication.
Currently a self-contained network of routes, The Lanes will eventually be surrounded by the controversial 1,100-home Pickering’s Farm development.
One of the many issues raised during years of wrangles over that scheme – until the government finally gave it the green light just over two years ago – was how to prevent the additional traffic generated by the new housing flowing onto The Lanes.