And Another Thing About All This Rain…..

As I write, it is raining heavily again. It certainly seems that we are experiencing an increase in the number of extreme weather events, possibly caused by our warmer, wetter climate. High river levels and faster flowing currents increase the risk of flooding as rivers burst their banks. Also at risk though are our nation’s small stone bridges. Interspersed over the landscape, they may not be major thoroughfares but are relied upon by local communities. Not only this, they are structures with a valuable heritage.

Europe’s first roads and bridges were built by the Romans. These were developed during the industrial revolution with many of the larger, more significant ones being transformed following World War Two. Many smaller more remote bridges, however, remain at the ‘industrial revolution’ stage – beautifully designed stone bridges linking one village or town to the next. In recent times several factors have increased pressure on these structures. Where traffic used to consist of pedestrians, animals and carts, there are now cars and trucks of ever-increasing size and weight and this, coupled with heavy rain can threaten the integrity of the bridge.

According to ‘The Conversation’ website, it is estimated that floods in 2009 caused the damage or collapse of 29 bridges in Cumbria alone and in 2015 the town of Tadcaster was divided when the bridge that connected the two halves of the town collapsed. Just last year Grinton Moor Bridge in North Yorkshire was washed away just weeks before a prestigious cycle race was due to pass over it.

These collapses might not be down solely to heavy rain – a bridge might already be weakened by age or the long term undermining by water of the earth around the piers over many years – a process known as ‘scour’. But an increase in the force of the water running underneath, possibly also pushing debris such as fallen branches into the bridge, may well cause the damage which ultimately becomes the ‘final straw’ and may lead to catastrophic consequences.