Bridges

We are responsible for around 400 highway bridges. Including bridge we own or manage for other agences including: the Highways Agency (trunk roads and motorway), Railtrack (railways), British Rail Property Board (disused railways), the Environment Agency (main rivers) and British Waterways Board (canals).

As a rule the bridge usually belongs to the organisation (or its successor) that had cause to need the bridge in the first place. Ownership of bridges has been transferred in some cases, such as when the responsibility for a route changes. These bridges should be inspected regularly and a programme of maintenance work drawn up to ensure their safety. We have a database of bridges for managing our bridge stock.

We inspect 200 bridges every year and have a programme of maintenance work. We inspect incidents of damage through vehicle collision, storm damage, or other causes as soon as possible. In the case of damage to bridges by vehicles, reporting of the vehicle details may mean it is possible for us to claim the cost of the repairs to the bridge or culvert.