Another riverside footpath and a footbridge have had to be closed as an emergency after Bristol council workers found it was a public safety risk.
The May Walk path, which runs from the Bath Road at Totterdown, down to the river and over a footbridge to St Philips, will be closed from Monday after council workers found damage to an outer retaining wall.
The closure will also mean the Victor Road footbridge that connects Totterdown with St Philips and the Temple Quarter area will also be shut – and the closures could be as long as six months.
It is the latest discovery of Bristol’s crumbling waterside infrastructure, following the collapse of the Cumberland Road embankment which saw footpaths and roads shut for years, and the discovery last year that the embankment wall on the south side of the New Cut river near Victoria Park was also structurally unsound.
A series of footbridges across the river have also been found to need serious repairs, and right now several – including Vauxhall Bridge at Spike Island, and the ‘banana bridge’ at York Road – have been shut for months and years in some cases.
Last autumn, the council embarked on an exercise to strip back the vegetation growing on the river embankments, from Cumberland Basin all the way to Netham and Brislington, and that has now reached St Philips, where the latest problem has been discovered.
“During the recent removal of vegetation along the New Cut river walls, parts of an outer retaining wall that stabilise May Walk footpath were identified as a public safety risk,” a council spokesperson said. “These areas have been cordoned off with barriers and fencing.”
The council said the emergency work will include rebuilding around 20m of the retaining wall, resurfacing the path to ‘address cracks and subsidence’, removing the vegetation, including three trees that are causing structural damage, and minor drainage works.
The council added that the contractors on the job will have to use a small stretch of the bus lane on the A4 Bath Road near the Three Lamps junction. The whole repair job will cost an estimated half a million pounds.
“We understand that this closure may cause inconvenience, but the safety of our residents is our top priority,” said Cllr Ed Plowden (Green, Windmill Hill), who is the chair of the council’s Transport and Connectivity Committee.
“These essential repairs will ensure that the May Walk footpath remains a safe and accessible route for everyone. We appreciate the community’s patience and cooperation during this time,” he added.