Second Trent crossing needed for A631
Recently, while visiting Gainsborough on Lib Dem Party business, I took the chance to look at Trent Bridge on the A631 on the border between Nottinghamshire & Lincolnshire
This bridge, originally built in 1791 and widened in 1962 by putting concrete slabs on the original bridge structure, is in need of refurbishment. At least one of the concrete slabs has begun to work lose and the road surface (last re-laid about 8 years ago) is also wearing out. The problem is that the Gainsborough Bridge is the only crossing of the Trent between the A57 toll bridge at Dunham and the A18 at Keadby Bridge near Gunness (apart from the M180). While I was there in the early afternoon the flow of traffic was constant with a significant number being trucks of all sizes.
If Trent Bridge was to be close for the work needed to be carried out, it would cut Retford and the villages of east Bassetlaw off from Gainsborough. As many live on one side of the Trent but work are educated, shop or just visit for leisure on the other side, a closure would be a great hardship for all those concerned. The bridge is also a main route for heavy lorries (which is probably one of the causes of the current problems) from Bassetlaw into Northern Lincolnshire and onto the South Humber Ports. A twenty mile diversion to the toll bridge at Dunham will have a knock on cost for many businesses.
So what to do? The Liberal Democrat run Town Council in Gainsborough through the Gainsborough Town Partnership are working in partnership with Lincolnshire County Council, the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce and the Lincolnshire Co-op to find funding for constructing a second bridge over the Trent. A site for this (about 250 meters south of the current bridge) has already been identified and costs are estimated to be in the region of £15 million for the new bridge & associated access route. Because the current bridge is jointly owned by Nottinghamshire CC & Lincolnshire CC, those on the east of the river are looking to us on the west to share the cost.
I asked a couple of local (Bassetlaw) businesses about this plan and they were enthusiastic in support a second bridge. They know the hold ups that are caused by any problems on the bridge at the moment ( two mile tails backs to Beckingham are regular) and feel that Nottinghamshire’s road planners have forgotten about this corner of the county.
What can be done to persuade our County Council to join this scheme? I am writing to the Nottinghamshire County Council Highways department about this issue and to the Chair of the County’s Transport and Highways Committee, Bassetlaw’s own Cllr Kevin Greaves, asking for the issue of the bridge to be looked at urgently. You can help by writing to your local County Councilor (if you don’t know who yours is and I will let you know) asking them to support the proposal for a second crossing of the Trent between Beckingham and Gainsborough.
This scheme is long overdue and we need to press the County Council into bring it forward as quickly as possible so please join me in this campaign.
