Safety concerns prompt £2.5m repair plan for Old Flatts Bridge on Sheffield–Rotherham Parkway
The bridge’s parapet, which is designed to prevent vehicles leaving the carriageway and falling onto the railway below, has been found to be structurally unsound
Safety-critical repairs costing up to £2.5 million have been proposed for Old Flatts Bridge on the Sheffield–Rotherham Parkway, after engineers found the structure’s parapet had failed and no longer meets national safety standards.
Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council Documents show the authority is seeking £1.9 million in additional funding to carry out major structural repairs to Old Flatts Bridge, which carries the A630 Sheffield Parkway over a railway line.
The bridge’s parapet, which is designed to prevent vehicles leaving the carriageway and falling onto the railway below, has been found to have failed structurally and no longer meets national safety standards, according to a council report.
Officers say the bridge itself also lacks the structural capacity needed to support a modern vehicle restraint system, meaning significant strengthening work is required before a new parapet can be installed.
The total cost of the scheme is currently estimated at £2.5 million. Around £600,000 is already available from the remaining budget for the A630 scheme and will cover design work and early preparation, but a funding gap of around £1.9 million remains to allow construction to go ahead.
Council documents warn that without the work, the existing parapet would remain substandard, posing a risk to motorists using one of South Yorkshire’s busiest routes.
Andrew Bramidge, the council’s Strategic Director Regeneration and Environment told a meeting of the overview and scrutiny committee that the bridge and its parapet have suffered a structural failure, forcing one lane to remain closed for more than a year, and confirmed £1.9m has been allocated next year to carry out urgent repairs to meet its responsibility to road users and nearby residents.
Leader of the council Chris Read added: “following the works that were done on the parkway and the safety checks that were then done subsequently issues with the bridge came to light then.”