Northside Bridge (also known as New Bridge) carries the A597, linking the North side of Workington with the Town Centre. Opened in 2012, the bridge consists of three spans. From north to south, the first span crosses the A596, the second span crosses the River Derwent, and the third crosses the floodplain to the south of the river. The carriageway is S2, with a cycle lane in each direction, and a footway on either side of the carriageway.
History
The original Northside Bridge was built in 1904, and when roads became classified in 1922, the structure carried the B5298. This route was renumbered as the A597 in 1988, when a western bypass of Workington was constructed.
In November 2009, the River Derwent flooded catastrophically, leading to the partial collapse of Northside Bridge and the death of a police officer who was on the bridge at the time of collapse. This, along with the closure of Calva Bridge, meant that the nearest road crossing was Papcastle Bridge. Within 5 months, the bridge was completely demolished and a temporary replacement had been constructed upstream. Work began on the permanent replacement, which was completed in October 2012.
