AddThis SmartLayers

Regional daily launches front page plea for fourth road bridge

A regional daily has launched a front page plea for a new bridge to be built in the city it serves.

The Nottingham Post is calling for a fourth bridge to be constructed across the River Trent – saying its readers “deserve better” than the current situation.

The Post says the recent closure of Clifton Bridge, one of the three current bridges over the Trent in Nottingham, has led to “chaotic” congestion.

In a front page comment piece on Friday, editor Natalie Fahy said the past few days had put Nottingham “under the microscope”.

Nottingham bridge

Natalie wrote: “More than ever, we’ve seen how our lives are dictated by the magnificent River Trent – and our ability to get back and forth over it. The closure of Clifton Bridge means traffic has been chaotic, with journeys of just a few miles taking people hours to complete. The QMC [hospital] has been hard to reach, being stuck right at the epicentre of the crisis.

“Throw into the mix a high-stakes [Nottingham] Forest [football] game at home and you’ve got a big Nottingham problem. Highways England don’t need to do any explaining though.

“We should be grateful regular safety inspections are undertaken on our bridges and that when we cross them, we know we are in safe hands. The problem we’ve got is that there is no slack in our traffic system. We are incredibly vulnerable.”

Natalie went on to point out Gedling Borough Council said a bridge should be built at in 2014, while a decade earlier Nottinghamshire County Council recommended a new river crossing.

She added: “Now, the leader of the county council, Kay Cutts, is proposing a second bridge at Gunthorpe.

“Surely now is the time for councils and political leaders across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire to collaborate and work on a solution that would help us all? We need a joined-up approach to produce lasting change.

“We can’t sell Nottingham as a great city to invest in, if the closure of one bridge brings us to a standstill. Nottingham deserves better than this.”