WORK to repair the bridge at Gunnislake is expected to continue for another week, according to Devon County Council, which has thanked the public for its co-operation during the works.

Newbridge has been closed to traffic after a van damaged both parapets and entered the River Tamar nearly two weeks ago. After originally hoping the bridge would be re-opened after two weeks, the new opening date is due to be February 21.

The bridge has been open to pedestrians and cyclists and a diversion route has been in place for all other traffic. However, some drivers have chosen to ignore the designated diversion route and driven the narrow roads through Horsebridge instead, said Devon County Council officers.

Landlord of the Royal Inn at Horsebridge Paul Eaton said there had been a dramatic increase in traffic since the closure of Newbridge.

'It is like a motorway through the village, the traffic build up is about 50 times more than usual. It does create problems seeing as most of the roads are single-lane, the roads and the bridge are getting backed up — we've had quite a few stand-offs!

'It's very busy and they go way too fast but there's not much anyone can do about it, we just take it in our stride.'

Stuart Hunt, bridge inspector (south) for Devon County Council, said: 'There is a fully signed diversion route in place using the B3362, A388 and A390 and vice versa.

'Horsebridge is not the diversion route as this is not suitable and people who choose to use it, ignoring the diversion, do so at their own risk. Signs have now been put out to stop HGVs trying to use these routes.

'I drove the diversion route at rush hour from one side of the bridge to the other and this took me 45 minutes.

'The bridge cannot be opened to vehicles as the scaffolding has been erected on the bridge due to the height of the structure and depth/flow of the river below. Even if it had not been, there is insufficient space to make the bridge safe with a vehicle containment barrier while allowing vehicles to pass — this wouldn't even include any space for operatives to work.'

Calstock parish councillor Mike Greenwood, who owns a garage on the Cornish side of the bridge, said he hadn't been affected too badly by the bridge being closed.

'Last week wasn't too bad as I had people coming from Gunnislake. This week has been a bit of a pain because I've needed to get to Tavistock and it's taking me longer to go all the way round than the ten minutes it usually takes.

'It's inconvenient but manageable. People have been parking either side of the bridge, which seems to be working well and the bus is busier than normal.'

A spokesperson for Devon County Council said that the council had acted fast and efficiently in getting the emergency repairs arranged as quickly as possible.

'We have engineers working a six-day week to have the bridge re-opened in quick time. Our original estimate of two weeks to complete the works has been extended by a few working days as the full extent of the damage wasn't known until the scaffolding was erected.

'Also, this is a listed structure, so we have to use lime mortar which takes longer to build with than cement-based mortars.

'In the meantime, we'd like to thank the public for bearing with us and reassure them that we're doing everything we can to re-open the bridge at the earliest opportunity.'