THE historic Abbey Bridge near Egglestone Abbey has been smashed by a vehicle again.
The latest in a long line of incidents happened last week. Resident Alan Dodgson, who took a photo of the scene, said: “There has been more damage to the Abbey Bridge. The offending vehicle has scraped much of the stonework, as well as knocking a top stone off and damaging some metalwork. It’s about time action was taken by the authorities to limit what goes over this beautiful old bridge.”
It comes as campaign group Barnard Castle HGV Action Group has been calling for a permit scheme on lorries to protect historic features.
Dave Wafer, Durham County Council’s strategic traffic manager, said: “We are aware of damage caused to the Abbey Bridge as a result of an accident last week, involving a school bus that wasn’t carrying passengers at the time. The damage is not significant enough to require any restrictions over the bridge and will be repaired as soon as possible.
“Temporary cameras had previously been installed on the bridge by Highways England to monitor the traffic when part of the A1 motorway was closed and Barnard Castle was being used as part of the diversionary route. As the works have now been complete the cameras have now been removed.
“We are also aware of calls to introduce an HGV permit system in the town, however such a restriction would not impact on school transport.”
