A councillor is concerned about the state of Barmouth Bridge and fears if repairs are not carried out soon it could lead to the vital viaduct’s closure.

Cllr Mark Strong, an Aberystwyth town councillor, was visiting Barmouth with his family when he went for a walk over the bridge and noticed it was “rusting away”.

He is also concerned that speed and weight restrictions imposed on trains crossing the bridge are an indication of a serious problem with the integrity of the bridge.

“It is badly corroded, especially the spans nearest to Barmouth,” he said.

“I’ve taken photographs and I’ve sent them to Network Rail.

“The bridge hasn’t been painted and it’s rusting away. It’s not surface rust either.

“Also, I know there is a speed restriction and a weight restriction because I went on the train and spoke to someone about it and they said they’ve been told they can’t go any faster over it.”

Cllr Strong is worried delays to the work could result in a lengthy closure of the bridge.

“School children rely on travelling across that bridge and I’m concerned that if they leave it too long the damage done will lead to it being closed for a long time.”According to Network Rail, work will be carried out shortly.A spokesperson said: “We plan to invest over £20 million to restore Barmouth viaduct this Control Period (2019-24) – the biggest refurbishment in living memory.“We recognise it is not only a vital connection for rail users and active travel in north west Wales but is also hugely important in terms of tourism and Wales’ rail heritage.“We’re working very closely with Transport For Wales, Cadw, Gwynedd Council and other stakeholders as we develop our plans to restore the structure so that it continues to serve rail passengers and the people and communities of north west Wales for another 150 years.”

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