The failure of a recent joint repair on the M62 Ouse Bridge came as a 'surprise to everyone', a senior figure at National Highways said, sparking a complete overhaul of the work.
The joints were replaced over a two-year span from March 2022, after inspections revealed the need for intervention. However, one of the eight joint repairs failed within a year of the project's completion.
Traffic restrictions on the bridge were lifted in October last year but further issues were discovered in June after a member of the public reported a visible problem with one of the joints.
National Highways has now decided to replace all the newly fitted bolts across the eight replacements as a ‘precautionary measure’.
Phil Jepps, programme delivery manager at National Highways, told the BBC that the faulty condition of the new joint that had been fitted to the Bridge was ‘a surprise for everybody’.
‘It's not what [I] or anyone else expected,’ Mr Jepps told BBC Look North.
‘The joints were completed in October [then] a member of the public reported that part of the joint plate had been detached.’
Mr Jepps also stated that the manufacturer and installer of the joints had said it was ‘something that they've never seen before’ after visiting the bridge.
‘It is quite a surprise for everybody that this has actually happened,’ he added.
National Highways has been approached for further comment.
The Ouse Bridge is a reinforced concrete plate girder bridge built between 1973 and 1976. It spans the River Ouse between Goole and Howden in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
Image credit: K10sky / Shutterstock.com
