Delph bridge project

An inspection by the Highways & Engineering team identified that substantial maintenance work had to be carried out to repair and preserve a grade II-listed stone arch bridge in Delph, a village in a conservation area located in the east of Oldham Borough. This provided the opportunity to carry out essential road resurfacing work to the centre of the village and replace a mismatched 1960s footbridge in a poor state of repair.

The work involved ‘saddling’ the existing stone bridge arch to both strengthen and protect it, with the construction of a concrete structure on top of the existing arch. Resurfacing preserved the original appearance of the bridge. The footbridge was replaced by a more considerate design befitting the conservation area.

By taking the opportunity to resurface much of the village centre and rebuilding damaged retaining walls this helped to minimise future disruption to traffic and pedestrians, and ensured a cost-effective project.

With a capital investment of £600k the project was completed in September 2007. Services provided by the Highways & Engineering team, now part of Unity Partnership, includes bridge inspection, working in conjunction with the Regeneration team to acquire funding, and responsibility for the design, implementation, public consultation and traffic management.