Works are progressing on Bath's Cleveland Bridge with resurfacing due to take place overnight from June 12 to June 20.

Bath & North East Somerset Council is notifying residents that the bridge will be closed between 7pm and 6am on those dates for the works, which have been scheduled to avoid Network Rail's overnight works at Churchill Gyratory taking place from late June to the middle of August. 

The painting of the bridge is progressing with three coats having been applied and the final coat due to be completed in the next two weeks.

These works form part of the original scheme for the refurbishment of the bridge and will be completed by late summer 2022.

However, the council announced in April that traffic management is set to remain on the bridge as investigations continue into how to solve the complex engineering issues discovered during the agreed repairs to the Grade II* listed structure.

Severe corrosion was revealed when sections of concrete were removed from the hanger bars, which support the main trusses of the bridge and are essential to maintaining its structural integrity. The bars are not commonly found in bridges and the solution is proving a technical challenge, as any solution will be bespoke and there are few experts in this historic methodology.

An assessment of an option for installing a bearing under the truss to support the weight of the bridge is expected this week and will inform how repair works progress to the hanger.

Councillor Manda Rigby, cabinet member for Transport Services, said: "These resurfacing works form part of the refurbishment scheme which is progressing towards completion and we are aiming to minimise any disturbance to residents during the overnight closures.

"The technical challenge remains with the hanger bars and we are expecting the assessment report this week. We are confident that any proposed solution will be localised to the abutments and will not involve digging up the resurfacing to the bridge deck. We're increasing our efforts to ensure drivers abide by the restrictions during this ongoing work.

"The complex engineering and safety critical issue unearthed in January does not have a straightforward solution, but engineers need to be 100 per cent sure the solution will not cause a structural failure on other sections of the bridge. That's why in April we extended the temporary traffic regulation order for another six months and it has not been possible to safely open the bridge to two-way traffic. We are really sorry for the inconvenience but safety has to remain our top priority."

The bridge is Grade II listed almost 200 years old, and was originally built for pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages, it now carries around 17 000 vehicles a day, including coaches and heavy goods lorries weighing up to 44 tonnes. Bath and North East Somerset Council are the Highway Authority responsible for the maintenance of the bridge. The bridge is designated as parts of the Primary Road Network (PRN) as its forms part of a long distance north-south strategic route between the south coast and the M4, with the predominant flow being between the A36 and A46.