Mystery as Telford footbridge panel found smashed
A glass panel at Telford Central railway station's new footbridge has been smashed, and experts are stumped as to what caused it.
The damage at the footbridge, which opened at the end of November, was discovered yesterday by workers tidying the deck.
The bridge connects the railway station with Rampart Way and Telford town centre, spanning the A442 Queensway.
It is covered on either side by pairs of thick glass panels, and one outer panel above a section of the road heading northwest is cracked throughout.
The cracks appear to radiate from a circular point about the size of a pound coin.
Nigel Newman at Telford & Wrekin council said: "A glass panel on the bridge was damaged at around 8.30pm last night – it has behaved exactly as it is designed to and remained in place with no risks to pedestrians or vehicles.
"The glass will be repaired in due course and any works will be scheduled overnight to minimise any disruption to the bridge and traffic."
Angie Astley, Telford & Wrekin Council's assistant director of customer and neighbourhood services, went to inspect the bridge yesterday with engineering group manager Gareth Pegg.
She said that the damaged panel was "perfectly safe" and would be easy to replace once the correct size of panel is found.
Mr Pegg said: "We are already in discussion with the suppliers about how quickly we can get a replacement.
"We will aim to get it done in the next few weeks."
Both expressed their puzzlement about what had caused the crack at a panel of its height, above a busy A road with traffic heading in the opposite direction.
Ms Astley said: "The main thing is it's safe, there 's no health and safety issue. It's just frustrating and it's unclear how it's occurred, other than that some force has hit it."
The footbridge was built to replace the aging red bridge that previously connected the railway station and the town.
Despite not yet having a name, the new bridge was given the overall winner’s prize at the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) West Midlands’ annual awards dinner last month.
The £10 million Telford Footbridge Project also won the team achievement and the medium project awards.
