1:29pm Wednesday 20th December 2006
A GWENT town is set to benefit from a £1.5m grant to replace vital road bridge.
The Foundry Bridge, Abertillery, was declared outdated by Blaenau Gwent Council in 1999.
Since then, the authority has been trying to gain funding to carry out essential repairs.
Now the bridge is going to be replaced, thanks to the Narional Assembly.
The bridge regeneration is just one of the projects to benefit from 14m over the next three years thanks to the Assembly's Physical Regeneration Fund (PRF).
The Foundry Bridge has been a focal point for the town since it was erected in 1896, to join the two sides of the Tyleri Valley near the iron foundry.
The first bridge was later demolished in the late 1940s due to subsidence in the area.
The replacement structure was the first pre-stressed concrete bridge in Britain, consisting of post-tensioned beams supporting a reinforced concrete deck.
Routine inspections, and concerns within the industry following a collapse in 1985 of a similar type of bridge in Ynys-y-Gwas in West Glamorgan, identified the need for an overall appraisal of the structure.
Social Justice and Regeneration Minister Edwina Hart, announced that funding had been granted at the official opening of the Abertillery's new Metropole Cultural and Conference Centre.
"I'm delighted that there has been so much interest in the Physical Regeneration Fund and that it has been used to such a positive effect," said Mrs Hart.
Abertillery councillor and Deputy Leader of Blaenau Gwent Council Nigel Daniels said: "This is excellent news - the reconstruction of Foundry Bridge will be a catalyst project in the regeneration of the centre of Abertillery.
"Foundry Bridge is both the gateway and the main artery of Abertillery, and this is a superb opportunity to renew a local landmark, while at the same time laying the foundation of a modern transport infrastructure."
Work on the bridge, the northern gateway to Abertillery town centre, is expected to commence in April 2007
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