Eggleston bridge 'just not up to taking modern HGVs'

DAMAGE to a historic bridge has triggered renewed calls for more action to tackle diverted HGVs.

Eggleston Bridge, on Collingwood Bank, near Eggleston Gardens, was shut for four days last week after one of its walls was knocked over by a wagon at 5am one morning.

Emergency repairs were completed during the weekend but the incident sparked a call for signs to prevent heavy goods vehicles tackling the narrow bridge.

Phil Hunt has campaigned on issues relating to HGVs in the dale for years in an effort to save the area’s historic monuments and sites from damage.

He said: “I would have thought a width limit would be entirely appropriate.

“It is just not up to taking modern juggernauts.”

One Eggleston resident, who did not wish to be named, said she’d asked Durham County Council to put a sign at the top of the B6281 to limit HGVs.

She added: “It gets knocked quite a lot and you could see the river below.

“If anyone brushed against it again quite a lot of the wall would have fallen away.”

John Reed, Durham County Council’s head of technical services, said: “We were made aware that a vehicle crossing Eggleston Bridge last week (December 13) had hit the structure, causing damage to one of its parapets.

“Our inspector visited the bridge and concluded that the damage needed to be repaired as a matter of urgency in the interests of protecting the structure and road users’ safety.

“Due to the narrow nature of the bridge, the repairs could not be carried out without a full closure.”