Overview
- A crash at about 1am on Wednesday displaced roughly ten metres of the bridge's parapet and threw masonry into the River Kent.
- Westmorland & Furness Council sent an out-of-hours crew to secure the site, reopened the bridge to vehicles at 10:03am, and installed concrete, water-filled and plastic barriers while the southern footway stays closed.
- A man was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and failing to provide a roadside breath test and police enquiries into the incident are continuing.
- The council plans to recover salvageable heritage stonework 'early next week' but must first complete habitat regulations assessment surveys and obtain Natural England assent before underwater work can begin.
- Because Nether Bridge is a scheduled ancient monument inside SSSI and SAC-designated habitat, permanent repairs will need a specialist heritage contractor and may require Environment Agency consent, which will keep repair work to a timescale of several months and limit pedestrian access.