Designs for the new Boxted Bridge underway

Scheme being designed to improve safety for road users and nearby private properties.

Proposals for a replacement bridge in Boxted will soon be published, following detailed surveys and investigations by highways engineers.

The new bridge is expected to be visually very similar to the existing Boxted Bridge, while complying with current standards and safety for road users and nearby private properties.

Boxted Bridge carries Wick Road and Lower Farm Road over the River Stour on the Essex/Suffolk border and is known to be in a weak condition.

Options to improve the existing structure have been carefully considered and Essex Highway’s recommendation to replace the bridge was independently verified by experts earlier this year.

Engineers have also taken on board feedback from Boxted Parish Council to retain the trapezoidal view of the bridge and to establish whether the junction alignment could be improved. 

As a result, further road alignment surveys and structural analysis have been carried out as the trapezoidal plan, with the carriageway being wider on the south of the structure in comparison to the north, requires a thicker bridge deck.

Essex Highways is now working to a revised scope to reduce the soffit level of the bridge while allowing a road alignment that does not affect access to the properties north or south of the structure. Options that would negatively impact a nearby property’s access have been ruled out.

A change to the bridge deck type has also been considered to help alleviate the impact to the waterway by reducing the overall size of the deck. Investigations into this continue.

Progress to date has been shared on the Boxted Bridge webpage. Drawings will also become available in the coming months and formal comments can be made via the planning portal during the planning process.

Essex Highways remains committed to proposing the best long-term solution for the crossing point and for the rural community it serves.