Historic 200-year-old bridge set to reopen after £12m restoration for first time in seven years

A nearly 200-year-old bridge is set to reopen to traffic after being closed for almost seven years due to serious safety concerns and fears.

Whorlton Bridge, which crosses the River Tees near Barnard Castle in County Durham, could welcome vehicles and pedestrians back across it by the end of August.

The historic bridge was closed in 2019 after inspections found it was no longer safe to use, with new photos showing the near-complete restoration, including the bridge deck and huge suspension chains back in place.

It first opened in 1831 and is one of the oldest surviving iron chain suspension bridges in the country, but required extensive repairs to continue operating.

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It was originally built to carry coal by horse-drawn carts during the early Industrial Revolution and has since provided an important link between Whorlton village and nearby communities.

The bridge is protected as both a Grade II-listed structure and a Scheduled Monument, meaning the restoration required detailed approval and close involvement from Historic England.

Permission for the work was finally granted in December 2023, with major restoration work beginning the following month.

Engineers had to dismantle the bridge piece by piece to examine the condition of its ironwork, deck and suspension system.

Testing showed that around 96 per cent of the bridge's roughly 1,800 parts had deteriorated so badly that they could not be saved.

The replacement parts have been designed to look like the original bridge while meeting modern safety and engineering standards.

Specialist tests, including radiography and load testing, were carried out during the inspection process.

The restoration has been led by Durham County Council, with contractor VolkerLaser appointed to carry out the work. The project has also faced several unexpected delays.

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Work was temporarily stopped in 2025 after engineers found serious problems with a concrete beam supporting the south side of the bridge.

Around 150 tonnes of ballast had to be brought in to stabilise the walls before work could safely continue, while other delays were caused by environmental and archaeological issues.

Engineers also discovered a rock outcrop during piling work, while further permissions were required because of the historic south abutment.

The original estimate was £8.4million, but the final cost is now expected to be more than £12million because of the scale of the problems discovered.

As of June, most of the major fabrication work has been completed. Painting is largely finished, while the chains and main deck timbers have been installed.

The remaining work includes installing the parapets and final deck timbers, completing painting, repairing masonry on the south side and removing the cable crane used during the restoration.

Road resurfacing is also planned between the Toll House and Whorlton village, while the bridge is expected to reopen to the public in late August.

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