For public input, Essex Highways has presented its ideas for a new bridge to replace the 200-year-old Finchingfield Bridge. The road bridge is in the village of Finchingfield in northwest Essex. It carries the B1053 road over the village pond and accommodates a single-lane carriageway. The maximum width of the Finchingfield Bridge is 4.42 meters, and the clear span is just under 4.3 meters.
According to Essex Highways, a division of the county council, the current bridge is “weak and deteriorating,” necessitating its replacement. The bridge is old, but it is not listed. The organization wants to build a “long-lasting structure that visually resembles the existing.” According to Essex Highways, the bridge and pond elevation will be built to the same specifications as the current one. However, it will have a short distance into the pond to accommodate the introduction of narrow verges.
It is suggested that the current width between the bridge walls be maintained between new kerbs and a narrow hardened verge. This will help provide some protection for the bridge parapets. These ideas would result in a bridge that will be up to 1.5 meters wider overall while keeping the road width constant.
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The Finchingfield Bridge project in Essex
In addition, Essex Highways plans to build a temporary pond crossing. It will much help Finchingfield’s traffic flow while the bridge is being built. It submitted a pre-application to Essex County Council’s planning department in 2021, and the department responded in November of that same year. No significant arguments were made against the proposal to replace the current building. However, it is believed “that the design of the replacement bridge will need to be sensitive.”
In June 2022, Jackson received the project’s design and construction contract, and by the end of the same year, Essex Highways had submitted a planning application to the planning department of Essex County Council.
The outline designs created by Essex Highways have been developed by Jackson’s design consultant Waterman. The public has access to the drawings for the new bridge, the temporary work that will allow for its construction, and the temporary crossing of the pond. The public consultation will be open from today (19 January) through February 9th.
