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Party plan for reopening of 195-year-old bridge

Claudia RobinsonNorth East and Cumbria
News imageBBC Three people are standing on the deck of the Whorlton suspension bridge, preparing to officially reopen it. Tim McGuinness, cabinet member for rural, farming and transport at Durham County Council, stands in the middle of the three holding a pair of scissors and is about to cut a pale blue ribbon. He is wearing a dark suit with a light-coloured shirt. To the left of him is Jo Harper, a south side resident. She is wearing a blue coat with light blue trousers and a yellow floral scarf and has her hands clasped in front of her. On the right is George Stastny, a north side resident. He is wearing a light-coloured jacket and trousers, a light blue shirts and a patterned tie and his hands at his sides.BBC
Whorlton Bridge was originally opened in 1831

A Grade II listed bridge has reopened after being shut for seven years, with more than 100 residents and a brass band celebrating the return of the landmark.

The 195-year-old Whorlton suspension bridge across the River Tees in County Durham was painstakingly dismantled piece by piece to allow its ironwork, deck and suspension components to be restored.

Its closure meant residents faced a seven-mile (11.3km) diversion to get to the other side of the river, although some admitted they enjoyed the peace and would have to get used to using the pavements again.

Mary Stastny, chair of Whorlton Village Community Association, said: "We're hoping to reconcile the two sides at a party tonight."

Specialists and engineers worked to preserve old features during the £12m project to reassemble the bridge, which first opened in 1831.

Stastny described the reopening as "a very big day" for the two communities, north and south of the river, and said: "We're thrilled that they've made such a great job of the bridge.

"It's beautiful and they've made it look so very similar to what was here before."

News imageDURHAM COUNTY COUNCIL An aerial image of the bridge which is surrounded by trees on all sides. The bridge has scaffolding along both sides and at the end. Part of the River Tees can be seen underneath the bridge at the top end of the image.DURHAM COUNTY COUNCIL
The project to restore the bridge was described as "challenging"

Paul Anderson, strategic highways manager at Durham County Council, said it was a "proud day" for the authority, adding "1,800 different components made this bridge".

He said: "We had to catalogue each piece, test each piece, and determine which were safe to reuse structurally.

"The vast majority have been reused, but some of them decoratively where we've had to marry that in with new steel and techniques to ensure the structural stability as well as the cosmetic appearance."

News imageAn image looking along the restored surface of the bridge. The camera is positioned at ground level and shows the wooden planks of the bridge with a harder grey material on both sides of the bridge with a small gap in between. There are grey metal railings at either side of the bridge and outside them the grey metal structure of the bridge itself. In the far distance is a group of people standing on the edge of the bridge.
The two sides of the bridge are once again a short stroll away

Lee Jackson, senior project manager at contractor VolkerLaser, said the job was "challenging to say the least".

"Every step of it has been a challenge just to make sure we could get it put back to how we see it now," he said.

"We incorporated all of the old chain with the new, so it sits like a fascia on the new chain.

"We've kept as much of the original bridge as we can."

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