Fragile bridge- signs and liability?

sandspider2000

Hi all

We have a small road bridge on our land, which gives one route of access to our house and several other properties. It spans a small stream, which got rather high in the rains in December and battered the bridge foundations a bit. No major cracks or anything, but some mortar loss, a bit of scour under the foundations etc.

I'm thinking of putting up a couple of signs saying "weak bridge, use at own risk" or similar. Would this be a bad idea, and admitting that we know the bridge is possibly weak? Or a sensible precaution and fulfilling our duty of care?

It will be fixed later this year but there needs to be less water in the stream first...

Thank you.

davidmcn

What do your insurers think about it? What exactly are the precautions you'd expect users to take upon seeing that sign? It's a bit useless unless you actually state eg a maximum weight. 

sandspider2000

I haven't spoken to insurers yet, I don't want to make it formal. I'd hope that heavy vehicles would turn around and go the other way! It's fine for normal cars, but I'm a bit worried about mini oil tankers and other heavy traffic. I could put 3 tons max on the sign, though that's a guess really. I just want people to be careful on it and to be aware it may be a bit weak...

theartfullodger

Get it fixed and professionally estimated for weight.  Otherwise, terrible accident, someone dead, how will you look - or feel?

Doozergirl

Time to consult a structural
engineer, methinks. 

They can assess what should be done and give you the weight limit.  

eddddy

Looking at it from a practical perspective... What are you (or your neighbours) going to say to the oil company when you request your next delivery?

1. You can drive over the bridge
2. You can drive over the bridge slowly
3. The driver should inspect the bridge before driving over, and make his/her own decision whether to drive over it

If it's option 3, would the oil company agree to that? (Would you expect the oil company to pay for additional repairs if their driver decided to proceed and caused further damage to the bridge?) 

(As Doozergirl says, to be safe, you probably need to instruct a structural engineer to assess the bridge. But they will probably err very much on the side of caution in their assessment. )

kazwookie

If they didn't use the bridge how would anyone get to the properties?

Maybe close the bridge for good if you are that concerned and use a different access point if one is available.  Is there any legal requirement for you to open the bridge / maintain it for other people to use?

greatcrested

You appear to be clear that there is a potential risk.

You are equally aware you don't know what the risk is.

Get a professional to assess the risk and then act accordingly.

You say the bridge is on your land, so I assume the road and bridge are ot adopted highway (though they could be)?

Presumably if the road is yours, and unadopted, the owners of the other properies have a ROW? Depending on the precise legal rights and responsibilites you may have obligations owards them to consider.

sandspider2000

Hi all

Thanks for the thoughts.

Sorry, I should have said- bridge has been assessed by structural engineer. He said it needed a bit of patching when the water is lower, but he saw nothing that suggested risk of imminent failure. The bridge in question is about 1m span and 1m above the stream bed below, not a huge drop, so death is very unlikely! I'm more concerned about the bridge being weakened by heavy vehicles. (The odd oil tanker has gone over it since the flooding, without visible damage, but I'm a little concerned as to what may be happening out of sight).

There is an alternate route to all the properties in the area (shared access as suggested), but I'd rather not close the bridge unless I have to as the alternate route is a bit laborious.

I would just like opinions as to whether putting up a sign saying "weak bridge" / "weak  bridge 3 ton limit" or similar might potentially cause trouble? Or would be a sensible thing to do towards exercising my duty of care?

Thanks.

robatwork

I'm still not clear, perhaps being a bit dense so can you spell it out.
Is it your bridge? Or an adopted road?

If it leads to shared access, do the other properties pay anything towards its upkeep?

If it's 100% yours then it's your responsibility and I would put up a sign with details of alternate route for heavy vehicles, and CAUTION: Weak bridge etc. IMO.

sandspider2000

It's our bridge, on an unadopted road, and can also be used to access 4 or 5 neighbouring houses. (Though it's not the only route) In theory, they contribute to the upkeep, but haven't done so yet. They probably will be asked to contribute to the cost of patching the bridge, if they want to keep using it!