Between Monday 9 January and Tuesday 28 February, Balkerne Hill Bridge will undergo development work by Essex Highways. A diversion will be put in place to direct you to across the highway, enabling you to access the Mercury when parking in St Mary’s car park.
During this time, the car park is due to remain open except for the following times. Please bear this in mind when planning your visit and check the Essex Highways website for the most up to date information. For the duration of the works, prepaid parking tickets will be accepted in any of our CBC operated car parks.
There will be no access to the car park during these times*:
Saturday 14 January, 8pm – 5am
Saturday 21 January, 8pm – 5am
Saturday 11 February, 8pm – 5am
Saturday 18 February, 8pm – 5am
*If a customer is parked in the car park prior to the closure, they will still be able to exit later in the evening.
About the Balkerne Hill Bridge Replacement Scheme
Balkerne Hill Bridge currently provides a pedestrian link from St Mary’s car park and the west to Balkerne Gate and Colchester town centre. Works are planned to commence in early January to replace the existing bridge with a widened bridge deck to allow it to be safely used as a shared pedestrian/cycle link facility. The work will also include alterations to the adjacent footways and the installation of new cycle route directional signs.
To facilitate this work, Essex Highways will need to implement temporary traffic management, including:
- Phased day time off-peak southbound and northbound lane reductions on Balkerne Hill
- Short overnight full road closures in both directions on Balkerne Hill, for the removal and installation of the new bridge deck
- Full closure of the Balkerne Hill on-slip from St Mary’s Car Park for the duration of the works, to facilitate construction works
During these works it will be necessary for the footbridge to be closed. This is currently programmed for the week commencing the 9 January 2017 to 28 February 2017. Details of the closure and diversions will be published in advance within the vicinity as they may be subject to change, with updates also reflected on the scheme pages of the Essex Highways website. Full pedestrian diversions in both directions will be effective during the closure. Car park access will be maintained for both vehicles and pedestrians except for the dates detailed above.
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