Cracked bridge in Burgess Hill to be demolished

Keymer Junction Bridge, in Burgess Hill, crosses the Brighton to London railway line to the south of Wivelsfield station.

It is currently owned by Network Rail and although it is regularly used by pedestrians – there is no legal right of way.

The new footbridge will be owned by West Sussex County Council.

Work will also include widening the existing footpath, installing street lighting and bollards and will be accessible to disabled people.

The planning application also states the bridge will be ‘considerably longer’ than the existing structure – measuring about 41 metres.

West Sussex County Council’s planning application states: “The current condition of the bridge is poor, with significant cracking and moving of the spandrel walls, separation of the arch rings, cracking, spalling and mortar loss to the parapet wall.”

“The construction of the new footbridge will cause disruption to existing users of the bridge and surrounding open areas.

“The bridge and footpath will remain open for as long as possible and the ethos of the construction stage is to have the footbridge installed before the old one can be demolished.”

Officers have also made plans to provide a shuttle bus for pedestrians wanting to cross the bridge, because of the ‘lengthy diversion’.

The colour of the bridge has not been agreed but council officers are ‘tentatively suggesting’ it might be dark green.

However, the final choice of colour will be decided by Mid Sussex District Council.

The existing bridge was closed to cars in about 1980 because it was thought to ‘unsafe’ to carry cars.

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