Behind the scenes tours around the bridge works site and talks on the project will run on Saturday 26 November
Elland Bridge, which was damaged beyond repair during the Boxing Day floods last year, will open to visitors as construction continues on the new bridge.
Flooding washed away its foundations, fractured the arch and caused a large crack in the road surface, making the bridge unsafe, having stood for over 200 years.
The Grade II listed bridge had to be dismantled brick by brick to make way for a replacement on the same site, over the Calder & Hebble Navigation near Halifax.
With a government pledge of £5.5m – which will also assist work on the nearby Crowther Bridge – the new Elland Bridge is expected to open to traffic by the end of the year. The canal only reopened in July.
Saturday 26 November
Visitors can tour the current works, including walking across the new bridge surface, and explore the modern and traditional skills used on the project.
The bridge’s stone mason will be on hand to demonstrate his carving skills, while engineers and historians will be happy to answer questions.
Time-lapse footage of the rebuilding and photographs of the contruction by the Halifax Photographic Society will be featured.
Also on display will be artwork, stories and poems about the flooding, written by years 5 and 6 students from Elland Church of England Primary School.
The Elland Bridge open day (Elland, Yorkshire, HX5 9HH) starts at 9.30am and runs until 3.30pm.
