Great Yarmouth road bridge might have to be operated manually following electrical fault

  • Anglia
A view of the Haven Bridge looking at it side on from a drone hovering above the river. A boat is moored on the quay to the left
The bridge connects Gorleston with Great Yarmouth town centre Credit: ITV Anglia

The system used to operate Great Yarmouth's Haven Bridge 90 years ago could be reinstated after the motor used to lift it normally broke down.

Engineers are looking at ways to restore the hand winding system to allow large boats to pass under the bridge, which crosses the River Yare downstream of Breydon Water.

An electrical issue in the lifting mechanism was identified on Wednesday, 9 September, and engineers will be on site on Thursday and Friday trying to find a solution.

Norfolk County Council said they will be looking at a range of solutions.

A statement said: "Expert bridge technicians will be carrying out work to explore the possibility of bringing back into operation an existing hand winding mechanism with suitable modifications, including motors to power the mechanism.

"This mechanism, which dates back 90 years to when the bridge was built, had been taken out of use a number of years ago."

The northbound side of the road will be closed during the day while engineers are on site, and there will be further road disruption if they are able to restore the hand winding system; because of the time it takes to lift the bridge, the road will need to be fully closed overnight if it is used.

A full upgrade of the normal lifting system will take place later this year, thanks to £1.2m of government funding, which the council said would "resolve many electrical issues caused by ageing [and] failing equipment."