Footbridge reopening is delayed

Ongoing repair work on the footbridge over Oldham Way, near Oldham Sixth Form College.

THE reopening of an Oldham town centre footbridge has been delayed until next month after an increase in necessary refurbishment work on site.

Workers have been at the Union Street West footbridge since the start of October as part of the second phase of planned refurbishments at the bridge.

The work, designed to improve the structure's look and encourage more pedestrians and cyclists to use the bridge to access the town centre, had originally been due to take 10 weeks.

However progress has been delayed due to an increase in workload and weather conditions and is not expected to be completed for another month.

Councillor Fida Hussain, cabinet member for environment services, said: "This is a complicated structure and the workload has changed and increased as we've progressed with the refurbishment.

"The weather before Christmas also had an impact on progress.

"This means the opening date of the footbridge has been slightly moved back as it's much more important that we get the work absolutely right.

"The refurbishment will be completed - and the bridge reopened - by mid-February."

Key improvements to the bridge will include a high-grade stainless-steel parapet and a new handrail, which will incorporate an LED down lighter at the centre of each panel to provide a spectacular visual effect during the hours of darkness.

The Oldham Crest will also be placed on the outside of the parapet on both sides of the bridge and will be lit up at night. The bridge will also be cleaned and repainted.

The bridge is currently closed and a diversion route for pedestrians and cyclists via Manchester Street roundabout is in place. The first phase of the renovation project was originally completed in autumn 2015.