RESIDENTS and businesses in Tonedale were this week receiving a second Network Rail letter telling them of fresh dates for the closure of a railway bridge which will see traffic to the rest of Wellington cut off.

But the letter only served to add to local confusion after residents had previously been given three different dates for the work on the Station Road bridge over the main rail line.

In its latest letter, Network Rail said it would close the bridge for four-and-a-half weeks from Monday (September 7) while repair works were carried out.

It gave a re-opening date of October 8, nearly a month earlier than the official road closure notice approved by Somerset County Council, which said the bridge would be shut until November 7.

But residents and local councillors remained uncertain as to closure dates because the letter included a list of ‘frequently asked questions’ which estimated the work would continue until October 19.

The rail infrastructure firm also said the repairs were timed to coincide with a planned closure of the railway line between September 27 and October 3.

Last month, Network Rail delivered letters telling people the bridge would be closed from August 17 to October 19, while an advance closure sign was put on the bridge giving August 13 as the start of work.Concerns about the scheme have been raised by local councillors and will be discussed at a virtual meeting of the town council tonight (Monday).

Cllr John Thorne told the WWN: “It is hard to find words to politely describe the communications debacle we have witnessed with Network Rail over this planned closure, which apparently has been under consideration since early May but only dropped on residents and businesses at the eleventh hour."

For the full story see this week’s Wellington Weekly News.