Cullen Bridge reopening

Date Added - 16/11/09

A busy road which was closed to traffic earlier this month because of flood damage to a bridge is set to reopen later this week.

The A98 at Cullen will reopen to single-lane traffic at 5.30am on Thursday.

It had been thought that repairs to the bridge might take as much as four weeks to complete.

But progress in stabilising and beginning repairs to the structure has been better than expected.

The reopening will be welcomed by motorists, who have been inconvenienced by a lengthy diversion via Keith, as well as residents and local businesses.

The bridge, which carries A98 traffic over the Cullen Burn on the western outskirts of the town, was closed at short notice on Friday, November 6 after Moray Council engineers found structural damage in the wake of flooding several days earlier.

At first it was believed that all four corners of the bridge had been washed out but it was subsequently established that damage was limited to the western side.

Contractors dammed part of the burn to gain access to the stonework below water level and at the end of last week they were able to pour concrete to stabilise and strengthen the structure.

The next stage will be to replace the masonry blocks washed out by the floodwater.

Traffic lights will be put in place on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s reopening to single-lane traffic.

A Moray Council spokesman said the inconvenience the road closure had caused was regretted. “Our engineers have worked closely with the contractors, Morrison Construction, to whom we are very grateful.

“We would like to thank the public for their patience and understanding and we are very pleased to be able to reopen the road considerably earlier than was originally anticipated.”