Council failing to carry out all structural checks on bridges

COUNCIL chiefs have admitted they are failing to meet structural and safety compliance checks for bridges in Dumfries and Galloway. There are 1500 bridges spread across the region, yet Dumfries and Galloway Council cannot verify the safety and structural integrity of all of them, as required. This shock news comes almost a year since Kirkcudbright Bridge was suddenly closed after engineers found structural and safety issues. It now operates with traffic restrictions and needs to be replaced. A backlog of inspections has since piled up, which has been blamed on staff shortages and the covid pandemic. A report for councillors next week states: “The cycle for inspections and regular maintenance was disrupted. “It is anticipated the service will be up-to-date on its general (every two years) and principal (every six years) inspection programme during 2026/27.” It also notes significant challenges, including the management of ageing assets, reinforced and/or prestressed/post-tensioned concrete bridges which are known across the UK to be deteriorating – as exemplified by Kirkcudbright Bridge – reduction in resources, challenges regarding retention of qualified staff, and material costs increases and inflation. And it adds: “The closure of Kirkcudbright Bridge in March 2025 highlighted the significant pressure on the qualified team of engineers and the lack of capacity to ensure compliance. “This single project consumed the majority of the bridges and structures team for a period of time, which had a knock-on effect to ongoing inspections.” At the last update in November, just 73 percent of general/principal inspections had been completed. The report further explains the majority of the region’s bridges are of masonry arch design, and nearly 1400 are over watercourses, while others cross railways. The council has been forced to seek external specialist support to address non-compliance with regulations and to carry out a review of the bridges team to ensure it is fit for purpose. The ten-strong team comprises senior chartered engineers, graduate engineers, principal technician and senior clerk of works, as well as four agency/secondment posts. The review will be complete by June.