Government urged to fund ailing bridge replacement

A pair of MPs have urged the government to support a £180m project to replace an ailing road bridge over a railway on a busy city route.

Oxford MPs Dame Anneliese Dodds and Layla Moran visited the A423 Kennington bridge on Friday to voice their support for a council scheme to replace the ageing bridge.

Plans to replace the structure, which is part of the Oxford ring road and used by around 50,000 vehicles a day, stalled last year when a £71m funding gap in the scheme was uncovered.

Oxfordshire County Council is currently lobbying the government to provide the additional funds required to replace the bridge.

Visiting the bridge on Friday, Labour MP for Oxford East Dame Anneliese said the bridge replacement was "essential for local people to be able to keep getting around but also for local jobs, homes and our environment".

She added that she would "keep pushing" the government "to ensure the bridge is replaced".

Speaking alongside Dame Anneliese, Moran said the rail bridge was "absolutely critical" to the city's transport network, as well as major local projects such as the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme.

"If the bridge continues to deteriorate, the impact will be severe – restricting traffic, clogging up the local road network, and putting vital projects at risk," the Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon said.

"That's why I'm making the strongest possible case to government for the remaining funding needed to replace the bridge," she added.

A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: "The Structures Fund will provide much-needed investment for repairing run down bridges, decaying flyovers and worn-out tunnels across the country, and an update will be provided on this soon."

It was in 2019 that the council first said the bridge needed to be replaced, with the proposal acquiring planning permission five years later.

The scheme would involve replacing the bridge one side at a time, so that it can still be accessed by workers during the construction, especially while there are periods of traffic.

Council plans would also see a new path for walking and cycling, a new eastbound park and ride bus lane and improved flood protection installed.

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