Beard has been awarded the contract to replace the three outdated toll houses from the 20th century with new stone buildings and to refurbish the original Victorian toll houses.
New toll houses at either end of the bridge will provide a more modern working environment for the bridge attendants. They will replace the existing outdated 1950s toll booths on the Clifton side of the Bridge and the 1970s addition to the original toll houses on the Leigh Woods side.
The original Victorian toll houses on the Leigh Woods approach will be retained and refurbished.
Construction started on the seven-month building programme on 2nd January with project completion planned for summer 2019.
The first milestone will be the demolition of the existing toll houses, which is due to take place over the weekend of 19/20 January.
Bridge master Trish Johnson said: “The bridge is a Grade I listed structure and 153 years old, which requires ongoing work to make sure it can continue to operate effectively and meet modern day needs. This is an exciting project that will both improve the setting of the bridge and provide better working conditions for our attendants, who do a fantastic job as curators of the bridge, round the clock and in all weathers. The build will however be a challenging time for pedestrians and traffic. We will do everything we can to help minimise the impact on users and our neighbours during the construction period and ask everyone to bear with us over the coming months.”
Beard regional director Mike Hedges added: “We are very pleased to have been awarded this unique refurbishment project on the Clifton Suspension Bridge – one of the nation’s most iconic structures. We will be working closely with the trust, local authorities and the community to minimise disruption to bridge users during the project.”
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