Big freeze to blame for bridge drama?

The bridge at Aberbechan which has been closed since Sunday night could have been a casualty of December’s Arctic weather.

 

Engineers from Powys County Council have been on the scene since reports of problems on the Grade II listed bridge which is part of a popular side road leading into Newtown through Llanllwchaiarn.

 

Unconfirmed and unofficial reports at the time said part of the bridge, which crosses the River Severn, had collapsed but it now appears that a significant crack appeared over the New Year’s weekend forcing police to take emergency action.

 

“It’s been closed as a safety measure as it was reported that a crack had appeared,” said a spokesperson for Powys County Council. “A full assessment is taking place today (Tuesday) so we’ll be in a better position to find out what the full extent of the problem is.

 

A highways official said that frost could well be the problem, but this is unconfirmed until the full survey can be done.

 

The closure of the popular ‘short cut’ increased Newtown’s traffic problems over the Bank Holiday weekend with one motorist saying it took 40 minutes to complete a five minute journey on Monday.