Opening date for Preston's 'new' Old Tram Bridge revealed

The new incarnation of Preston’s ‘Old Tram Bridge’ will open on 22nd May, the city council has announced.

Long-awaited confirmation of the date came less than 24 hours after a town hall meeting at which the authority quashed what was described as a “rumour” that the structure would be accessible to the public before the official ceremonial opening had taken place. Cabinet member for community wealth building Valerie Wise said that was “not true".

The Lancashire Post revealed earlier this month that the second half of May was being eyed for the opening after delays to remaining paint works caused by the wet weather since the start of the year.

The cross-river pedestrian connection between Avenham Park and Penwortham was cut in February 2019 after an inspection found that the previous bridge was at risk of sudden collapse.

Work on the £8.2m replacement started in the summer of 2024 after funding was secured the previous year as part of Preston City Council’s bid for cash from the government’s Levelling Up Fund. That followed a local campaign for the project to be included in the proposed schemes to be pitched to ministers.

The authority says further details of the opening event will follow in the coming weeks.

The original tram bridge structure was built in 1802 to carry goods across the Ribble between Preston and Walton Summit - and opened in 1804. It was largely rebuilt in 1935 after being badly damaged by high flood waters and a new deck was installed to replace the previous timber one in 1966.

It is the concrete beams put in place as part of that process that lay at the heart of many of the last bridge's problems - with two out of three them displaying cracks. Overall, the structure was found to have 200 defects in 2019.