Harewood Bridge successfully re-opens ahead of schedule after essential maintenance works

From around lunchtime on Friday 18 August Harewood Bridge will fully reopen to vehicles after completing the essential maintenance works ahead of schedule, originally planned for Thursday 24 August.

Leeds City Council along with construction partner Balfour Beatty have carried out waterproofing, resurfacing and foot path repair works. Previously the council has carried out temporary repair patches to extend the longevity of the carriageway, but these repairs could no longer continue without fixing the underlining problem. The works started on 26 July and lasted just over three weeks.

The replacement of the waterproofing will lead to benefits such as:

• an increased reliability of journeys and reduction in congestion caused by unplanned emergency closures for carriageway repairs.
• reduced risk of accidents caused by potholes in carriageway, reduced risk of damage to vehicles caused by potholes in carriageway.

The historic Grade II* listed Harewood Bridge carries the A61 Leeds to Harrogate Road across the River Wharfe at Harewood. The important crossing sees thousands of vehicles use it each day. The essential maintenance works were planned to coincide with the school summer holidays, with reduced levels of traffic.

Re-opening the bridge ahead of the planned schedule will enable vehicles and bus services to resume back to normal without delay or further disruption. Bus users can please see West Yorkshire Metro and the Harrogate Bus Company to check out updates to local services.

An overnight closure will be required probably in September, to complete some specialist surfacing work.

Councillor Helen Hayden, Leeds City Council’s executive member for sustainable development and infrastructure, said:

“I’m delighted to see Harewood Bridge re-open to vehicles after successfully completing the water proofing repairs and surfacing, almost a week ahead of schedule. I would like to thank people for their patience and apologise for any disruption during the works. Also, thank you to the team and contractors, for getting this important strategic route back open as quickly as possible.”