AN ambitious project to build a new city bridge has hit a hurdle after one of the subcontractors responsible for making the structure went into administration.
The Kepax Bridge in Gheluvelt Park in Worcester hangs unfinished over the River Severn after one of the subcontractors responsible for fabricating the bridge went into administration.
Work is still scheduled for completion towards the end of 2024 as long as there are no significant delays such as flooding as council leaders gave assurances it would not be a significant setback.
Subcontractors, SH Structures, went into administration earlier this month and now the main contractor, Alun Griffiths, must appoint a new one before work can carry on.
Despite the situation, bosses at Worcestershire County Council insists the bridge is still on course to be completed by the end of the year and within budget. The project has also been hampered by flooding.
SH Structures which designs, supplies, manufactures and installs complex steel structures has been approached for a comment but had not responded by the time we went to press.
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Cllr Marc Bayliss, cabinet member with responsibility for economy infrastructure and skills and the Conservative candidate to be Worcester's next MP, said he had been reassured that the project would carry on and on time and within the cost envelope.
He added: "It's a shame. It is one of the subcontractors. It's not the main contractor. These things happen in business but officers have assured me that we're still on course for delivery this year which was always timeframe.
"I'm really excited and we can see the bridge is almost there in many ways."
Cllr Lynn Denham, joint Labour leader of Worcester City Council and a county councillor, said: "I'm sorry to hear that one of the firms involved in the construction of Kepax Bridge has gone bust.
"It must be really difficult for them and for their employees. There has to be a concern from Worcester people that we are going to have a building site continuing within Gheluvelt Park.
"I know that, as the city council, we had been making plans for landscaping the site when the bridge is finished. I don't know, in terms of the growing season, if these plans could now be put in jeopardy."
A spokesperson for Worcestershire County Council, said: “We have been made aware that SH Structures Ltd, one of the sub-contractors working on the construction of Kepax Bridge in Worcester, entered administration earlier this month.
"Our principal contractor, Alun Griffiths (Contractors) Ltd, is now working to appoint a new sub-contractor to work on the project going forward. We can confirm that we still expect to open the bridge by the end of the year and that Worcestershire County Council will not incur any additional cost as a result of SH Structures going into administration.”
The bridge will run from Gheluvelt Park to the east of the river to the Kepax site in St John’s, to the west.
When it finished, it will allow users to enjoy a figure-of-eight route along the River Severn from the Diglis bridge in the south to the recently refurbished Sabrina Bridge to the new bridge in the north (and back again).
Work is scheduled for completion towards the end of 2024, subject to no significant delays, such as flooding.
Improving walking and cycling routes around the county is a priority for Worcestershire County Council and Worcester City Council.
The scheme to deliver a new walking and cycling bridge across the River Severn in Worcester was approved by the Council’s Planning and Regulatory Committee on September 28, 2021.
Sections of the new bridge have already been lifted into place, with the bridge structure now beginning to take shape.
Works to construct the new walking and cycling bridge over the River Severn have already seen a 350-tonne crane lift four bridge sections into place on the west side of the river.
Huge, curved pieces of the bridge, comprising of three bridge sections, are being lifted into place next, by a 500-tonne crane and 120 tonne crane on the east side of the river.
Over the past couple of months, works have focussed on the new Horsford Road layout from the junction with Riverview Close and the new paths around Gheluvelt Park have been constructed.
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