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Cumberland Basin bridge: Temporary traffic lights to stay in place

Google Aerial view of the swing bridgeGoogle
The lights were set up to stop vehicles when the swing bridge is open, alongside the existing flashing amber/red lights

Temporary traffic lights put up more than a year ago in Bristol will remain in place "for the foreseeable future".

They were installed on the four approaches to the Cumberland Basin swing bridge for "safety reasons".

The city council was unable to give a date for a permanent solution but hinted the delay may be tied up to the proposed Western Harbour development.

A Freedom of Information request revealed the authority had spent nearly £40,000 on hiring the lights so far.

Google Cumberland Basin BridgeGoogle
There are traffic lights on the four approaches to the swing bridge

The Cumberland Basin bridge was built in the 1960s to carry traffic into the city from the western side of the city.

But as it was built across a busy water linking the Severn Estuary, via the River Avon, to the city's Harbourside, the swing bridge had to be built to allow shipping through.

Plans to redevelop the Western Harbour area, which includes the bridge, were included in mayor Marvin Rees' annual State of the City address last year, and in 2017.

Mr Rees said he wanted to see the "outdated" roads and bridges replaced, either by moving them or replacing them with a tunnel, as part of plans for more than 2,500 new homes in the area.

But earlier this year, city councillors said they were being kept in the dark over "secretive" plans to demolish a major road system and build thousands of new homes.