Bath’s Grade II* Listed Victoria Bridge officially reopens on Thursday 15 January following a £3.4 million refurbishment by Bath & North East Somerset Council to make the historic structure suitable for modern use for the growing population of Crest Nicholson’s Bath Riverside development and link the Upper and Lower Bristol Road for people on foot and cyclists.

Built in 1836 to a design by James Dredge – Bath resident, brewer and bridge builder – Victoria Bridge was the first of over fifty ‘taper’ suspension bridges to be built worldwide, and is one of only a handful remaining today.

The newly-refurbished bridge will be officially reopened by descendants of James Dredge – who are pleased to see his legacy live on.

The refurbishment work has been successfully completed according to plan. The presence of the temporary truss, which was installed by the Council in 2011, and the use of some innovative construction techniques by the Council’s contractor, Balfour Beatty, enabled public access across the bridge to be maintained for over 90% of the construction period, even though the bridge superstructure had to be completely dismantled and reconstructed.

Councillor Caroline Roberts (Lib-Dem, Newbridge), Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “Our completion of the work ensures the future use of the bridge as a safe and efficient route across the River for pedestrians and cyclists, including local residents and school children. This supports the growing local community and helps people move around the city more conveniently, as well as contributing to the evolving public realm of the Bath Western Riverside residential development.”

Much research work was undertaken as part of the project to understand the history and context of the bridge and the life and role of its designer, James Dredge. This gradually uncovered an enormous of amount of previously unknown information about the Bath brewer and engineer, including details of over 50 of his bridges in the UK and overseas (from South America to India), his ideas for the Clifton Suspension Bridge and his family history in Bath and Wiltshire. This incredible set of over 1,500 documents has recently been deposited in the Bath Record Office at the Guildhall and is available for the public to view.

Councillor Ben Stevens (Lib-Dem, Widcombe), Cabinet Member for Sustainable Communities, said: “The refurbishment of the Grade II* Listed Victoria Bridge illustrates Bath & North East Somerset Council’s commitment to restoring this important piece of heritage infrastructure for future generations to enjoy. This magnificent structure which plays a significant part in the story of Bath’s industrial development and the advancement of bridge engineering through the Victoria era.”

Ruth Garner, Principal Adviser for Heritage at Risk for English Heritage in the South West, said: “Bath’s Grade II* listed Victoria Bridge is an extraordinary survival of one of Dredge’s early suspension bridges which has now been saved for future generations. We were pleased to have been able to provide expert advice and support to Bath & North East Somerset Council on this successful refurbishment project and, as a result of the work, have been able to remove Victoria Bridge from our Heritage at Risk Register.”

Balfour Beatty began construction in March 2014 which involved the bridge being taken to pieces and reassembled with a series of new, steel components added to make the structure sufficiently strong enough to meet modern bridge design standards. The original Bath stone towers have also been cleaned and conserved and some new foundations built to support the Bridge’s north and south backspans.

To find out more about the Victoria Bridge refurbishment visit: www.bathnes.gov.uk/victoriabridge.