Network Rail has thanked local residents after a railway bridge in Devon reopened after unexpected delays.

The Torbay Road bridge reopened on Monday the 23rd of May after undergoing work to replace the life-expired bridge which provides pedestrians and vehicles with a way to cross the railway using Torbay Road.

The work was originally due to complete in March but supply chain issues lead to difficulties working around BT cables and led to the end date being pushed back to May.

The bridge is now open once again for two-way traffic and towards the end of the week, a temporary walkway with protective barriers on the bridge’s south side will be open so that pedestrians can cross the bridge.

The temporary walkway will be in place for the full duration of the English Riviera Airshow which will take place in Torbay during the Jubilee Weekend.

Once the Jubilee weekend is over, the temporary walkway will be closed on the evening of Sunday the 5th of June so that Network Rail contractors, Dyer & Butler can put in place new permanent walkways, whilst this work is underway a diversion route for pedestrians will be in operation.

From Monday evening, the bridge will close through the night for traffic and pedestrians which will allow Dyer & Butler to undertake the construction of the bridge parapets and the installation of new permanent pedestrian walkways. The installation of the walkways and the building of the bridge parapets should be complete by early August.

Stuart Calvert, Network Rail Capital Delivery Director, said:

“I would like to firstly apologise for the delay in completing this work to replace Torbay Road bridge and extend our sincere thanks to the local community for their patience and understanding during this time, which we know has caused disruption for longer than anticipated.

“We pride ourselves on our punctuality and efficiency when undertaking complex projects such as this, however on this occasion we regrettably have not maintained these high standards owing to a number of unforeseen challenges which resulted in delays to the project. We’ll be working closely with our contractors to review the difficulties we faced, taking these lessons on board and working to ensure we don’t face similar issues in the future.”

Kevin Foster, Member of Parliament for Torbay, said:

“It is a relief all round to hear these works are now coming to an end and one of Torbay’s key roads will be re-opened in time for the Jubilee Weekend and Airshow. I have appreciated the weekly updates from the Network Rail team as they brought this job to a belated close and now look forward, like many other constituents to being able to travel across the new bridge from Monday.”

Councillor Mike Morey, Cabinet Member for Infrastructure, Environment and Culture at Torbay Council, said:

“This project has taken a lot longer than expected and I am sure like us, residents who have been living around these works and who travel between Torquay and Paignton, are breathing a sigh of relief that this main and popular road is now opening to vehicles. The Leader, myself and the local Ward Councillors will continue to meet with Network Rail to receive updates and push for the remainder of the work to be finished as quickly as possible.”