South Gloucestershire Council

Published: 17/04/2015

The Bristol and Bath Railway Path between Teewell Hill and west of Staple Hill tunnel will reopen on Friday 1 May.

This section of the path had to be closed to enable essential bridge widening work to take place. This involved using the closed section of the railway path as a construction site to build foundations to hold the wider bridge in place. The new, wider bridge will also provide new footways for pedestrians and improved cycle facilities.

There is still some additional work to carry out, but apart from short duration closures lasting a day or less, the path will be fully reopened to pedestrians and cyclists from the beginning of May.

South Gloucestershire Council’s head of Street Care and Transport Mark King said: “The railway path will reopen in time for the first May bank holiday weekend ensuring cyclists and walkers will be able to use the route for leisure or as part of their commute. We do apologise for any inconvenience caused while these essential works have been carried out and thank residents for their patience throughout the extended closure.

“Before we can reopen the path on 1 May there is still some remaining work to complete the new arch above the path, cap the piling, and carry out maintenance to the old masonry arch.

“When this has been completed the path will be cleaned and tidied and the fencing will be re-positioned. Additional work to complete the bridge widening improvements will continue over the next three months which will require short term closures from time to time. Any such closures will be clearly signposted in advance and we will keep residents notified via our website and social media.”

While the railway path has been closed, we also carried out essential maintenance work to the Staple Hill tunnel, which including re-pointing the arch and airshafts.