Chaos fear as eyesore footbridge is demolished

Nov 20 2007 by Larry Neild, Liverpool Daily Post

LIVERPOOL’S busy Strand is to be closed to traffic from Friday night to enable the eyesore footbridge to be demolished.

It will mean thousands of motorists facing long diversions to cross the city from 8pm on Friday when the demolition squad move in. The six-lane road will not reopen until Monday morning.

The bridge, built in the early 1970s as part of the infamous walkway system, has been earmarked for removal as part of the multi-million pound city centre movement strategy.

The bridge already closes at 9pm each night because of antisocial behaviour problems. It attracts vagrants sleeping rough, as well as gangs of youths.

A street-level super crossing has already been completed to enable pedestrians to cross the busy highway in safety. The crossing is timed so that all traffic is stopped on both sides of the road to enable pedestrians to cross without interruption.

The route is one of the main access points from the city centre to the Pier Head and the famous Three Graces.

In recent years, the appearance of the bridge, one of the last remnants of the walkway, has deteriorated and it has been criticised by English Heritage.

The demolition work will involve placing a timber “crash-mat” on the road with sections of the bridge being cut away and dropped on to it.

Cllr Mike Storey, executive member for regeneration, said last night: “This footbridge is a relic of the walkways of the 1970s – a failed scheme which has now been virtually eliminated from the city centre.

“It is not only an eyesore but a focal point for anti-social behaviour. We have to close it at night as vagrants were sleeping there. Local businesses have told us that women, in particular, feel intimidated by the gangs.

“We need to demolish it before 2008.”