Oldham Town Centre Bridge Dismantling Contract

Bethell have been awarded a £80,000 contract to demolish and remove one of the most unpopular and underused footbridges in Oldham.

The town centre footbridge over the A62 Manchester Road is a 36 metre span warren truss structure that has suffered much vandalism over the past few years and repairing the structure has been assessed as unviable. Works are scheduled to commence in February and the A62 dual carriageway is scheduled to be closed for up to 3 weekends from Saturday night through to Monday morning as the structure is dismantled.

Councillor Dave Hibbert, Cabinet Member for Housing, Planning and Highways, said: “Last year the council made the decision to demolish the pedestrian bridge as it was underused and has not been popular with residents, visitors and people who work in the town centre for a number of years. We deemed the bridge was no longer safe for members of the public to use, spending any more money on it would have been a waste of council tax payers’ money. The bridge has now been closed for more than six months and people have got used to using the alternative and safe crossing routes, which are far easier to access”.