Coach and bus operators travelling to the historic market town of Oundle via the A427 face a detour when Northamptonshire County Council (NCC) slaps a three-tonne limit on the key access route, during the next eight weeks.
The council says the condition of seven of the bridge’s 13 arches over the River Nene are deteriorating, first identified in 2014. NCC does not have the £750,000 for repairs to the 1912-built bridge.
The section of the A427 links Oundle with the A605 trunk road to Peterborough and westwards to the A14. NCCC expects the alternative route to be via Barnwell to the A605.
Stagecoach Midlands, which runs half-hourly buses between Oundle and Peterborough, would have preferred an exemption for local buses. However the council tells routeone that because the weight limit is due to structural issues, no dispensation will be given.
Stagecoach says closure of the bridge to buses will impact its operating costs as it will need to increase the route’s peak vehicle requirement (PVR).
