ASSESSMENT of the damage to Newbridge is continuing at pace today with the installation of scaffolding.

Engineers have said that it would be a few days yet before they are aware of the full extent of the damage and are unable to predict with certainty how long repairs will take.

The collision with the Grade I Listed bridge happened on Tuesday, April 2, involving a vehicle approaching from the Cornwall side.

Loose coping stones have already been removed, but today scaffold has started to be erected that will provide engineers the vital platform and access needed to properly assess the damage.

The 100 metre long bridge linking Devon and Cornwall stands over a three-metre deep stretch of the river Tamar. It means that conventional scaffold, from the ground up, would be challenging for a number of reasons, including risk of branches or other floating debris. The team will build a cantilever scaffold, from above, which uses weight on one side to counterbalance the weight of engineers and equipment on the other.

A spokesman for Devon County Council said: ’We’ve started the scaffold today, but given the design required it’ll take a few days to have that erected. Come Monday or Tuesday though we expect our engineers to have a much better, more informed view of what the extent of the damage is, and therefore of the repairs needed before the bridge can be reopened.’

He added: ’We’ve got teams there working hard on site now, and we’re making progress as quickly and as safely as possible.

’This is, however, a Grade I Listed structure. We have to give it a sympathetic repair, which means that we will have to use lime mortar, and that takes longer to cure to get up to strength. We do not want this bridge closed any longer than is absolutely necessary.’

In the meantime, Devon county and Cornwall councils’ Highways teams are working together to sign and divert traffic around the bridge.

Devon County Council said that it will be keeping the public informed of progress on Twitter, @DevonAlert