Bailey Bridge (Walton on Trent)

The Bailey Bridge (also known as Walton Bridge[1]) is a crossing of the River Trent at Walton-on-Trent on the border of Derbyshire and Staffordshire in England. The first bridge at this location was a toll bridge constructed under an act of parliament in 1834. This was damaged in the floods of 1947 and a temporary Bailey bridge was constructed on top of the original structure by the British Army's Royal Engineers. This bridge was replaced by another temporary structure in 1974. The bridge is only one lane wide with access controlled by a tidal flow system controlled by signals at either end of the bridge. A separate footbridge is attached to the northern side of the structure.

Bailey Bridge
View of the southern elevation from the west bank of the Trent
Coordinates	52.7613°N 1.6843°W
Carries	Station Lane
Crosses	River Trent
Locale	Walton on Trent
Other name(s)	Walton Bridge
Owner	Derbyshire County Council
Characteristics
Design	Bailey bridge
Width	6.45m
Traversable?	Yes
Longest span	85.4m
No. of spans	2
Piers in water	1
Load limit	3 tonnes gross vehicle weight
No. of lanes	1
History
Opened	1947
Rebuilt	1974
Replaces	1834 iron and wood bridge
Location

Western approach

View of the southern elevation from the east bank of the Trent

Description

The bridge carries Station Lane over the River Trent and its floodplains which mark the boundary between Staffordshire and Derbyshire. The bridge is owned by Derbyshire County Council. It has a total span of 85.4 metres (280 ft) and a width of 6.45 metres (21.2 ft). It consists of a metal truss vehicular bridge supported on two brick abutments with a concrete central pier. The east abutment and central pier lie on either side of the river and the west abutment is in the flood plain. Originally designed for a 7.5-tonne gross vehicle weight rating (GVW) traffic is currently restricted to a maximum of 3 tonnes GVW. Only one traffic lane is provided, with tidal flows controlled by signals at both ends of the bridge. Vehicles are restricted to 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) and traffic barriers at either end narrow the road to reduce vehicle speeds and enforce a 7.5 foot (2.3 m) width restriction. It is lit by two street lights.[2]

The main structure consists of a steel truss with steel plate decking with a thin anti-skid coating. The brick abutments date from an earlier bridge, with the central pier being contemporary to the steel structure. A separate steel footway is attached to the northern side of the bridge. The river banks in front of the east abutment and the central pier are reinforced with pitched stones but some of these have been lost to flooding.[2]

History

The first bridge on the site was built in 1834 by the Walton-on-Trent Bridge Company, an act of parliament authorising construction was obtained in 1833.[1][3][4] The 1834 bridge was of iron and wood construction and was founded on iron piles. The cost of £5,500 was made through the sale of £10 shares and the company derived an income from the collection of a toll on travellers.[4] Previous crossings had to be made by a ford just upstream of the bridge site or by ferry.[5] The toll was eventually abolished and the toll house demolished at some point in the 20th century.[5] The bridge was damaged during flooding of the Trent in 1947.[1] The British Army's Royal Engineers were called in to erect a temporary Bailey bridge which was placed on top of the old bridge later that year.[6] The bridge was replaced again in 1974 by a more modern version of the Bailey design, though still intended as a temporary structure.[1]

Proposed replacement

The bridge is subject to repeated complaints about violations of the weight limit and damage caused by vehicles which are too wide to cross the bridge turning around in private driveways.[7][8] There were 123 complaints about breaches of the weight limit in 2017, although only one of these incidents was investigated and it did not result in a prosecution.[7] Concerns have also been raised by local residents about vehicles disobeying the red light signals and motorcyclists and cyclists illegally using the footway. There is a call for camera enforcement on the bridge, though the council claims it is not allowed to erect it at this location.[9]

A bypass of the village which would include a new two-directional crossing of the Trent was first proposed in 2012.[8] If such a scheme were to proceed the existing bridge would be restricted to use by pedestrians only. South Derbyshire District Council has stipulated that any developer proposing to construct houses on the site of the former Drakelow Power Station must first construct a bridge, though one developer has been allowed to construct 400 houses on the site in advance. Discussions with developers which included revised proposals for the works were made in December 2016. In July 2018 an unnamed contractor proposed to construct the bridge and bypass, with a budget of £12 million. It is not currently known if these works will proceed.[1]

References

1. Kreft, Helen (7 July 2018). "Firms still 'in discussion' with Drakelow Park over bridge and bypass". Derby Telegraph. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
2. "Principal Inspection Report – Walton on Trent – DCC Structure No.C21005 – March 2013" (PDF). What Do They Know?. Derbyshire County Council. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
3. "Action Against the Walton-on-Trent Bridge Company". The Nottinghamshire Guardian. Newspapers.com. April 13, 1895. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
4. Lewis, Samuel (1848). A Topographical Dictionary of England. London. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
5. "Walton on Trent Conservation Area Character Statement 2014" (PDF). South Derbyshire District Council. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
6. Waldron, Ben (2017-06-30). "Lorries following sat-navs keep getting stuck in Walton". Staffordshire Live. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
7. Bisknell, Eddie (29 June 2018). "More weight limit breaches on this bridge than any other in county". Derby Telegraph. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
8. Waldron, Ben (28 August 2017). "Residents voice concerns over lorries trying to cross Bailey Bridge". Burton Mail. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
9. Pridding, Beth (1 November 2017). "Walton residents share woes about Bailey Bridge after they claim cyclists and motorcyclists ride on footpath". Burton Mail. Retrieved 2 November 2018.