Bridge repairs to take place in Surrey

Multi-million pound repairs will be carried out on historic bridges in Surrey.

The bridges, built by medieval monks and one of Britain’s great architects, will be repaired in the coming months as a £23 million flood action plan continues in the county.

The 13th century Tilford Bridge and Sir Edwin Lutyens’ Hampton Court Bridge are among 39 river crossings being fixed as Surrey County Council continues to tackle severe highway damage caused by last winter’s devastating floods.

These two bridges will get structural repairs as part of a £2m revamp to 39 river crossings damaged after the Wey, Mole and the Thames flooded. Other repairs include spending at least £800,000 on replacing Flanchford Road Bridge near Reigate.

The county council’s chairman David Munro recently reopened Guildford and Onslow bridges, which are the first bridge repairs to be completed since the flooding.

John Furey, Surrey County Council’s cabinet member for flooding recovery, said: “We’re doing all we can to get Surrey back to its best after flooding hammered our county, and that’s why re-opening these bridges is an important milestone as we continue our £23m urgent flood damage repairs.”

As well as designing the 1930 version of Hampton Court Bridge, Sir Edwin Lutyens is best-known for creating landmarks like the India Gate in Delhi, Lindisfarne Castle and the Somme war memorial. Tilford Packhorse Bridge, one of two at that spot across the River Wey, was built by Cistercians from nearby Waverley Abbey.