Worcester Bridge

Worcester Bridge is a crossing of the River Severn in the city of Worcester. It was constructed in 1781. Widening and reconstruction of the bridge started on 24 April 1931, and was completed on 28 October 1932. The bridge is the only road crossing within the city centre, the Carrington Bridge on the A4440 to the south allows traffic bypassing Worcester to cross the Severn.

The bridge forms the middle section of two one way gyratory‎ systems, providing access to the A38, A44, A443 and A449. Despite being what should be a pinch point on the network, the bridge usually flows well at peak times, providing two lanes in each direction.

Flooding

Worcester Bridge during flooding

The River Severn at this point is extremely prone to flooding, at least once a year the bridge is likely to be rendered inaccessible to most vehicles, though the local bus company, First Wyvern, have contingency plans in place to provide a shuttle service from one side of the river to the other when the bridge is closed. Obviously when flooding is too severe, not even the bus service can be operated and traffic must divert to the Carrington Bridge to the south or the Holt Bridge several miles to the north.