AN AGEING bridge on a key road into Frodsham would remain open in a British Waterways scheme to repair the vital structure – but they are still struggling to find £4m needed for the urgent project.

At a top-level meeting in London last week, British Waterways owners of the 90-year-old Sutton Weaver Swing Bridge told campaigning Cheshire West and Cheshire councillors Andrew Dawson and Lynn Riley that, while the highways authority council was prepared to meet its share of the refurbishment costs, there is still a shortfall of £2m.

Weaver Vale MP Graham Evans also sat in on the meeting at the House of Commons to discuss the future of the bridge which carries the A56 and about 20,000 vehicles a day over the Weaver Navigation, and is the only crossing for miles in either direction.

The rusty structure needs major re-strengthening work in the foreseeable future, and its increasingly shabby state has led to disgruntled residents now volunteering to at least repaint the bridge , saying it has been an ‘eyesore’ and ‘embarrassment’ for years.

Cllr Dawson, who is also mayor of Frodsham, said: “British Waterways has a scheme drawn up for the repair work, which could start relatively quickly if funds were available to pay for it. But as matters stand, there is a shortfall of £2m.”

Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWaC) and British Waterways (BW) have committed to continuing discussions while both sides explore other possible funding options to bring refurbishment forward.

Cllr Dawson said: “There has been a lot of hard work and hard talking going on. But the galling thing is that it took Lynn and I to go to London to put a bit of steel and edge on the situation.

“Apart from the road’s strategic importance, all of us who live and work in and around Frodsham know just how important the bridge is to the town and the lives of residents.

“The meeting was amicable, but views exchanged were certainly frank.

“We have not yet found a solution, but I came away with a fuller appreciation of the challenges. There is much more to this than just a bridge, and that’s the difficulty we are all wrestling with.”

Cllr Lynn Riley is executive member for community and environment at CWaC, which spends £30,000 a year repairing the road surface over the bridge, which keeps breaking up because of shifting underlying metal plates.

She said: “Both organisations understand the impact this project will bring to our everyday lives.

“Knowing that BW has a scheme in place for repairing the bridge that will allow at least single-lane operation, give me some comfort that we won’t be talking about a total closure.”

BW’s waterways manager Wendy Capelle said: “We have been working with the council over the last few years and are keen to achieve a resolution. The refurbishment of the bridge remains high on BW’s agenda.”