Overnight work to tackle swing bridge problems

Bridge and highways experts will work through the night on Tuesday to try and resolve issues preventing Whitby's landmark swing bridge closing properly.

The planned work comes after several emergency closures of the bridge, which spans the River Esk and links the east and west of the town, due to its two deck ends not shutting as they should.

North Yorkshire Council said it was aware of the "impact the issue was having on the town" and the work on Tuesday night and early Wednesday would also look at what effect recent hot weather was having on the structure.

The work would require a full road closure from 18:00 BST on Tuesday to 02:00 BST on Wednesday, a council spokesperson said.

Barrie Mason, North Yorkshire Council's assistant director for highways and infrastructure, said the authority was doing everything it could to "get to the bottom" of the problem.

"The structure is inspected every three months, but for this particular programme we will be looking for, and removing, any build-up of corrosion on the deck ends," Mason explained.

"Normally the function of the swing bridge's own opening and closing would naturally remove any rust building up as the two sides move.

"The extremes of heat we have seen may well have impacted on this, so we will be looking for any signs of that."

The council also intended to fit some light-coloured high friction surfacing in the future to reduce heat build-up on the bridge, Mason said.

A shuttle bus would run between 18:00 and 00:00 BST on Tuesday while the work, which could create some noise, was being carried out, he said.

Mason added that the council appreciated people's patience and said it was taking the issue seriously.

"While we do this, we ask that people don't take unnecessary risks and respect the closure," he said.

His comment followed a warning by police at the weekend about pedestrians ignoring signs about the bridge closure and attempting to cross the structure, which dates back to 1908 and which spans 75ft (23m).

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