Otley replacement footway update October

Welcome to the latest details about the final stages to complete the new footway.

Thank you for your patience during the three weeks of Otley bridge road night-time closures.

Your support and cooperation mean we’re closing in on completing the final stages of steelworks installation of the footway parapets and repairs to the bridge pilasters over the coming days.

As we conclude the final pieces of the footway jigsaw, we look to set out the upcoming works and traffic management needed. These are plans still subject to change based on the weather and river conditions.

Night-time bridge lane closures under temporary traffic lights started on Monday 20 October from 8pm to 530am, each day until Sunday 2 November.

Full closures 

The overnight closures are needed to carry out the removal of the concrete barrier, existing road lining and reinstatement of bridge lining.

• From 8pm to 530am, starting Monday 10 November to Wednesday 12 November.

A fully signed road diversion will be in place, like the one in place this month.

Whenever possible, noisier activities will be scheduled earlier in the night to reduce disruption.

Lane closures 

These lane closures are needed to accommodate access for pedestrians during excavation works as part of essential Northern PowerGrid works. Power cables will be re-routed from the temporary footbridge back to the new footway.

• From 8pm to 530am, starting Thursday 6 November to Friday 7 November.
• Further lane closures will be in place day and night over the weekend from 8pm Friday 7 November, until 530am Monday 10 November.
• A second weekend of day and night lane closures will start from 8pm Friday 14 November, until 530am Monday 17 November.

Typical construction noise is expected during these works.

Efforts will be made to carry out noisier activities earlier in the night to reduce disruption.

Whilst some disturbance and inconvenience are inevitable, the council will do its best to minimise disruption.

Hopefully, if all goes to plan, the new footway could be open sometime before the end of November.

Pupils from Whartons Primary School visit the Otley footway works

Earlier this month, the project team welcomed 50 enthusiastic year 5 and 6 pupils and staff from Whartons Primary School to the Otley footbridge scheme. This follows an earlier STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) workshop at their school.

The Balfour Beatty’s team led by Andrew Cuff and Neil Beck, gave a presentation right at the side of the bridge, where they learned about all aspects of the project: from design and construction to sustainability and community impact. The children asked some truly insightful questions, and every single one was answered with care and enthusiasm.

They then incorporated some geography fieldwork into their visit, conducting a bridge footfall survey on the temporary bridge. Back at school, they’ll be using their data to create bar charts and sketch maps of the survey area — a fantastic way to link STEM learning with real-world application.