Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the immediacy of the steps required to tackle the effect of the partial closure of the A52 Clifton Bridge on Nottingham's road network.

During a routine structural inspection of Clifton Bridge in 2018, Highways England identified a number of safety critical repairs were needed. During these planned works, further structural repairs were found to be necessary which led to the closure of the bridge.

I understand how busy this stretch of the A52 is and Highways England did not take the decision to close the bridge lightly. The Department is working with Highways England to make sure everything possible is being done to resolve the situation and get traffic moving across the Clifton bridge as quickly and as safely as possible. One lane has already re-opened.

Highways England is working closely with local authorities to ensure there are no restrictions on the diversion routes.

Highways England invited all Local Resilience Forums (LRF), Nottingham City and County, to attend a briefing on the timings / stages necessary to safely restore the bridge capacity to normal.

Highways England also meets weekly with local authorities and the emergency services to discuss mitigation measures, share progress, and plan works.

Restrictions will be in place for some time until permanent repairs are completed. Highways England continue to liaise with local authorities to explore how the impact of the Clifton Bridge closure on the publics journey, can be further reduced.