The south embankment of the New Cut could collapse - if urgent action is not taken. Bristol City Council will have to close the main road along the river on one of the key routes in the city centre.
Council chiefs have discovered that the embankment wall at York Road, either side of the Langton Street Bridge, is moving much more quickly than previously thought, and if nothing is done, the entire embankment, road and bridge could collapse into the River Avon.
It will mean, initially, York Road - the road between Bedminster Bridge and Bath Road bridge on the south side of the river - will have to close for 12 weeks from next Monday, but that’s only to allow a patch-up work to halt the collapse to be done - the embankment will need major work to be rebuilt at some point in the future.
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Langton Street Bridge - the yellow bridge widely known as the Banana Bridge that connects Totterdown and Victoria Park with Redcliffe - has already closed to allow a major refurbishment. But electronic sensors in the embankment either side of the bridge have shown ‘movement of a 120-metre stretch of masonry wall near the bridge is speeding up, and the river wall could fail if urgent action is not taken’.
The council will begin emergency work to halt that movement - basically by putting heavy bags in front of the wall to stop the pressure of the water at high tide from pushing it. “These emergency works are expected to take around 12 weeks and include placing one-tonne bags along the bank of the river to reduce the tidal pressure on the wall,” said a spokesperson for Bristol City Council. “This will help to secure the river wall until long-term works are carried out.”
The council is going to shore up the wall either side of the bridge, to minimise disruption to traffic. It will mean York Road on the Totterdown side - the stretch from the St Luke’s Road junction and Bath Road - will be closed first, for six weeks from Monday, July 8.
![Langton Street Bridge and the York Road embankment](https://i2-prod.bristolpost.co.uk/incoming/article9382403.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_TCBR020724YorkRoadBRI_result.jpg)
Then, York Road will be closed on the Bedminster side - the stretch from St Luke’s Road junction and Spring Street - will be closed for the six weeks after, from mid August.
“Access for York Road residents will be maintained at all times and the closure will not impact the businesses near to the Bath Bridge roundabout,” the council spokesperson added. “Access for pedestrians and cyclists will also be maintained.
“To gain access to the embankment for the emergency repairs, unfortunately four London planes trees will need to be felled or pruned back under the guidance of ecologists. Any trees lost will be replaced with new trees as part of the long-term permanent repairs,” he said.
![](https://i2-prod.bristolpost.co.uk/incoming/article9382404.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_TCBR020724YorkRoadBRI_02_result.jpg)
The work to properly repair the New Cut embankment wall, when it does eventually start, is expected to take two years. Bristol Live readers will remember that when cracks were discovered in the north side of the New Cut embankment at the western end of Cumberland Road, nothing was done for two years until the entire wall collapsed, taking with it the Chocolate Path footpath, the heritage railway track and half of Cumberland Road. Work to repair it cost more than £12 million and took three and a half years to be completed. The Chocolate Path was closed for almost seven years.
The work to repair the embankment wall either side of the Banana Bridge will see the embankment dug away behind the wall, and a sheet-piled retaining wall built at the top of the bank, a concrete-piled wall behind the existing river wall, and replanting trees and vegetation along that 120-metre long stretch.
The new man in charge of Bristol’s roads and infrastructure, Cllr Ed Plowden, the chair of the council’s transport and connectivity committee, said he was determined not to leave work any longer so the wall condition would get any worse.
“These works are vital to stabilise the river wall,” he said. “If left any longer, there is a risk that this section could fail, leading to severe consequences. We’ve already seen a very serious collapse like this on Cumberland Road, which increased the remediation costs and the time needed to complete repairs.
![A section of the New Cut in Bristol near the Banana Bridge, Tuesday 2 July 2024, where the wall is in danger of collapse.](https://i2-prod.bristolpost.co.uk/incoming/article9382559.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_BRI_PG_020724new_cut-9.jpg)
“Safety must come first, but, while I’m pleased the emergency repairs will be starting soon, the temporary closure of part of York Road will undoubtedly cause disruption in the area and it’s always a last resort to remove any trees,” added Cllr Plowden, who is the Green Party councillor for Windmill Hill. “I have asked the team to make every effort to work around the valuable street trees.
“I would like to thank everyone ahead of time for their understanding while we carry out these important works to safeguard the future of Bristol’s harbourside assets,” he added.