Bridging the gap...

May Gurney is working with Suffolk County Council and the Environment Agency (EA) to deliver a programme of replacing and upgrading bridges in the Forest Heath area of Suffolk. The five bridges in the project all cross a watercourse known as the Cut Off Channel.

The bridges currently belong to the EA, but once they have been rebuilt will be handed across to Suffolk County Council.

The project is being carried out as additional work under the Suffolk Bridges' Framework, which commenced in May 2002 and has been extended until April 2008.

The framework covers replacing or renovating existing bridges over rivers and railway lines, and includes an option to build new bridges. To date, May Gurney has worked on 27 bridges under the framework, in addition to the five EA bridges

An open day was held on Friday 29 September, which involved a tour of the project for local councillors. A public exhibition was staged on the same day at Lakenheath Parish Hall, to give visitors the opportunity to talk about the project to representatives from the council, the EA and May Gurney.

Two of the five bridges, Tollgate and Crossways, have been rebuilt and works on White Fen and Delph are underway.

Work on the bridge at White Fen is nearing completion. The beams were lifted in during September, the temporary bridge was removed in October and works will be completed by the end of November.

Work on the Delph bridge will continue until summer 2007, and the final bridge, at Smeeth, will commence in January 2007.