From the Bristol Evening Post
EMERGENCY REPAIR WORK SCHEDULED ON BRIDGE
10:40 - 01 June 2007
Bosses at Network Rail have agreed to carry out emergency repairs to a bridge in Highbridge after traders complained business was suffering.Dennis Herniman, highways service manager for Somerset Highways, said the B3139 at Walrow Railway Bridge was closed for health and safety reasons.
This was to allow strengthening works to be carried out, but not until 2010 or 2011, and the road would be closed until that time.
But traders complained that since the closure came into force they have been losing trade and said they were worried for their future.
As a result, Sedgemoor District Council met representatives of Network Rail and Somerset County Council. Network Rail has now agreed to reconsider its repair programme to allow the bridge to be repaired by March 2008.
Options to allow cars to use the bridge in the meantime are being examined by Network Rail and Somerset County Council. They will report their findings to Sedgemoor District Council by the end of June.
Claire Faun, a spokeswoman for Sedgemoor District Council, said: "There has been considerable progress in recent months with new development taking place.
"Proposals will soon be coming forward for the redevelopment of the market site.
"It is vital that town centre businesses prosper to complement this development and growth."