Replacing the deck waterproofing and steel fixings holding the units in place is essential to prevent the steel bridge deck from corroding and to ensure the continued safety of those crossing the bridge.

While we have been able to continue with the project during the past few months, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the social distancing requirements has created some additional challenges for our contractors. As a result the scheme is now due to be completed by the end of November.

Following the transfer of the works onto the main deck at the beginning of August the north cantilever was re-opened to traffic. As this meant reducing the number of lanes on the main deck from three to two, new traffic management arrangements were put in place to keep the bridge operating as smoothly as possible.

We also closed the south cantilever lane to pedestrians, cyclists and mobility scooters so that it could be used for westbound traffic which would previously have been using one of the lanes on the main deck.

On Thursday, 15 October we will switch the traffic management to open the nearside westbound lane on the south side of the main deck of the bridge and close the nearside eastbound lane on the north side of the bridge to allow us continue with the next phase of the project.

During this phase the south cantilever lane will remain closed to pedestrians, cyclists and mobility scooters and we will continue to provide both the minibus shuttle service and the scheduled bus service provided by our partner CityBus.

We have also erected a new bus shelter at the top of Pemros Road to help identify the pick-up/set down point and to provide some shelter from inclement weather. We would like to remind all users that facemasks are required while travelling on any of our services, and to respect social distancing in and around the bus shelter.

The Tamar Bridge provides a vital transport link between Cornwall and Devon. Although there has been less traffic on the bridge than usual for the past six months, we are aware that there have been some delays, mainly caused by accidents or other incidents on the roads leading to the crossings.

We are very grateful to service users for their patience and would also like to thank everyone who has used the shuttle bus services to cross the bridge.