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During Storm Eva in December 2015, high water levels in the River Irwell caused extensive damage to the Kay Street Bridge and the Waterside Hotel (which had been on the upstream side of the bridge - see SD7915 : The Waterside restaurant). This damage rendered them unsafe, resulting in the demolition of the Waterside and the closure of the bridge to vehicular traffic. For a time, the bridge was re-opened to pedestrians but in May 2019, it was closed completely to allow work to be started to repair and widen the bridge so that it can be safely reopened to vehicles and pedestrians. This work involved:
• Repairing and extending the existing pier in the river with protection work being carried out to other parts of the bridge.
• Widening the abutments (bridge end supports) on the upstream side to create room for a pedestrian walkway.
• Adding new arch sections to widen the upstream elevation of the bridge and finishing it to match the original appearance of the bridge.
• Resurfacing the roadway on the bridge and its approaches.

Initially, it had been hoped that the work would be completed by Summer 2020 but the rebuilding work had to be extensively revised after surveys revealed that the bridge's foundations had been damaged much more than first thought. Work was also suspended for a few months due to Environment Agency rules which did not allow river access during the fish breeding season. The impact of the coronavirus pandemic Link caused further delays and as a result, the work was not completed until the middle of June 2021 with the official re-opening being held on 18th June (Link Bury MBC).

Created: Mon, 1 Feb 2021, Updated: Sat, 19 Jun 2021