When the majority of people think of ‘road users’ or ‘bridge users’ they tend to think of cars and other motor vehicles. However bridge users are much more diverse. We’ve already mentioned pedestrians and this blog looks at another beneficiary of the bridges: cyclists.
Planning for the Rochester Bridge Refurbishment Project began a long time before any physical work started on site, and one of the main things we planned for was safety. Safety of bridge users and of all the people working on the project.
Depending on your point of view, this could mean closing a whole bridge to allow plenty of space for work to be carried out. Or it could mean carrying out all work on the ‘outside’ of the bridges so there is no change to the carriageway.
The option we went for is to work on one side of the New Bridge at a time. This required us to close the pedestrian footway and cycleway but allowed us to keep the road open to traffic. To accommodate this, pedestrians were asked to accept a slight diversion and use clearly marked crossings to get to the footway on the Old Bridge.
But what of the cyclists?
It was decided to temporarily suspend the cycle path across the New Bridge as this caused the least overall disruption. Cyclists who are not confident in the carriageway can dismount, cross the road and walk along the footway of the Old Bridge.
When work on the New Bridge is complete, cycle provision will be reinstated.
We are sorry to have to suspend the cycle lane and appreciate your patience during these works. We hope you’ll agree a little disruption now is worth it to ensure the longevity of the bridges for the future.