Town Mayor Expresses Distress After Vehicle Strikes Bridge

The mayor of a town expressed being “devastated” subsequent to a vehicle colliding with a stone bridge, which occurred nine days after its closure due to flooding. Lydney Town Council communicated via Facebook its belief that a driver disregarded road closure signage prior to impacting the bridge on Newerne Street, which has been inaccessible since November 24. Lydney experienced significant impact in Gloucestershire during Storm Bert, an event that led to the River Lyd overflowing its banks. Mayor Tasha Saunders stated that the town’s return to normalcy “could be months” away following the occurrence on Tuesday morning. Ms. Saunders informed the BBC that the vehicle struck the bridge’s “weakest part,” which had experienced “water pouring through” it during the recent floods. “It is heartbreaking to see that all the tireless efforts from our community to protect the bridge have been in vain,” she said. “My deepest concern now is for the businesses in our town, which were already grappling with the effects of flooding and the closure of the bridge.” “This incident will undoubtedly prolong the disruption far beyond what we initially feared.” Ms. Saunders mentioned that the council is awaiting a safety assessment for the bridge, noting that the event “has made an already fragile situation much worse.” “This is a blow the town did not need,” she added. Lydney Town Council confirmed it had informed the appropriate authorities about the “significant damage.” Gloucestershire Constabulary reported that personnel responded to the location shortly before 01:00 GMT on Tuesday, subsequent to a report of a car striking the bridge. “The driver of the vehicle was taken to Southmead Hospital in Bristol to be treated for an ankle injury,” a spokesperson said. “National Highways were informed of the collision so that a structural engineer could assess the damage to the bridge.”