S M Whitfield's enthusiastic praise (Letters, August 14) for
the Highways Department's actions in repairing the
damage to Denham Bridge, while justifiable at one level,
needs to be modified by the thought that had there been
much clearer and more specific notice of the limitations of
the whole route to and from Bere Alston via the bridge,
the damage could have been avoided in the first place.
The Bere Alston Action Group and many others have for
years been trying to bring this matter to the to the notice
of both the planning and highways authorities with little
success so far.
Perhaps this latest incident will result in the total
prohibition of HGV traffic requiring to cross the bridge, by
imposing a weight limiit of 7.5 tonnes and a width limit of
2m on the bridge with at least two advance warnings on
the approach from Plymouth, one at the turn from the
main road and one at the cattle grid before the descent to
the narrowest part of the road, with corresponding
warnings on the approach from Bere Alston.
Geoffrey M Stowell
The Laurels
Bere Alston
Coordinator
Bere Alston Action Group