THE final stage of the £100,000 project to replace the crumbling footbridge in Tavistock?s Meadows should be complete by Christmas, it was announced this week. An engineer?s inspection last year revealed the iron bridge, owned by the town council, was nearing the end of its life. It was closed last December while investigations to survey the bridge bearings took place. The new bridge is presently being manufactured and work to lay a new gas pipe to replace the old one under the present bridge has just taken place. The second phase of the project will involve the river crossing being closed for a longer period, while the old bridge is taken down and the new one put in place. Town clerk Roger Howard said phase two would start on October 16, the week after Goose Fair. He said: ?The bridge and parts of the footpath at each end will be closed to the public from that date until about December 4. ?Some of the lights in the Meadows near the site will be out of action during this period, as the overhead power lines that supply them will be disconnected during the works.? Col Howard said the plan was to prepare the site during the first week, and start construction of the new bridge on October 23. ?It will take one week to remove the old bridge and perhaps three weeks to fit the new bridge and tidy the site,? said Col Howard. A ceremonial opening of the new footbridge would take place on a date yet to be fixed, he added.
