HIGHWAYS England is starting a seven-month programme of lane closure next week on the M48 Severn Bridge to carry out inspections of the suspension cable.

The inspection works will involve the closure of lane one westbound between 7am next Monday (14th March) and 5pm on Friday 2nd September. Lane one eastbound will be closed from 9.30am on Monday 16th May until 9.30am on Monday 17th October.

Chris Pope, project manager for Highways England, said: “To carry out these cable inspections and to ensure the safety of both the travelling public and our workforce, it will be necessary to put these long-term lane closures in place.”

During the period of lane closures, vehicles over 2.9 metres wide will be prohibited from using the M48 Severn Bridge, and the bridge will also be closed totally over four weekends to enable the lifting of an inspection gantry to a high level on the suspension cable.  The first full closure is planned from Saturday 16th April to Sunday 17th April.

“The inspections are vital to allow us to understand the current condition of the suspension cables and confirm that the measures that we implemented over the last 10 years have been effective in ensuring the long-term viability of the bridge and the safety of its users,” added Mr Pope.

“We understand this work may cause some inconvenience and disruption but we will make every effort to ensure the impact on drivers is kept to a minimum.

“We are working in conjunction with Severn River Crossing Plc, and the weekend closures have been planned to avoid any major events both sides of the bridge.”

Diversion routes across the M4 Second Severn Crossing will be in place during the duration of the weekend closures.