Heritage rail bridge to be demolished and replaced

A bridge along the route of a famous heritage railway in West Yorkshire must be demolished and replaced urgently, the charity which runs the line has said.

Rusting metal and rotting timbers had been found on the bridge in Haworth during structural surveys, according to the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway (KWVR).

It said the structure on Bridgehouse Lane, which dated back to the 1880s, had "reached the end of its useable life" and permission was being sought to replace it.

It would be “without a doubt one of the biggest civil engineering projects the railway has undertaken”, according to the KWVR.

Repairs were also needed to the structure's stonework, the charity said.

Running from Keighley to Oxenhope, via Haworth, the railway is a hugely popular tourist attraction, attracting tens of thousands of people each year.

It has featured in dozens of films and television shows, including the 1970 adaptation of Edith Nesbit's book The Railway Children.

An application submitted to Bradford Council said it would be impossible to create a like-for-like replacement for the bridge, the the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

Instead, a modern, steel structure would be needed.

A letter from KWVR as part of the application to replace the bridge said: "Structural engineers' reports have determined the bridge has now reached the end of its usable life, both due to the condition of the superstructure iron girders and the abutments and pier on which the superstructure rests.

"The bridge therefore requires urgent replacement."

An engineer’s report included in the application said: “The bridge is in poor to fair condition with several high, medium and low priority defects to both structural and non-structural bridge elements.

“The main defects relate to high levels of structural section loss to primary deck members resulting from paint loss and corrosion over the years."

Last year KWVR was awarded £1m from the government for work on the bridge to be carried out.

Initial work to divert drainage was due to start on 14 April, with the bulk of the work expected to take place in September, KWVR said.

The work would most likely require the rail line to close for around three weeks.

A decision on the application to replace the bridge is expected next month.

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