A free shuttle bus has been introduced following urgent safety work on Bubwith Bridge - to make sure passengers can still reach their destinations.
The shuttle bus, arranged and funded by East Riding of Yorkshire Council, maintains the connection on the A163 road between Holme On Spalding Moor and North Duffield, and is now running from Mondays to Saturdays until 1 April 2023.
Emergency work was carried out last month to make the bridge secure for winter after it was badly damaged in a road accident. Poor weather weakened parts of the bridge further.
To avoid potential damage by large and heavy vehicles over the next few months, the council also brought in the three-tonne weight restriction and 2.2m width restriction.
That meant the normal bus service, East Yorkshire buses service 18, could no longer get across the bridge. The bus now terminates and starts from North Duffield, but doesn’t serve Bubwith, Foggathorpe or Holme on Spalding Moor.
So the council has introduced the temporary shuttle bus, operated by Acklams Coaches, to serve those villages and maintain public transport for local passengers.
The bus connects with some journeys on service 18 and the timetable has been designed for commuters to/from York and the York Designer Outlet and to give shopping opportunities in the city. Residents from Holme on Spalding Moor can also travel to/from York on East Yorkshire buses service 46 via Pocklington.
Cllr Claire Holmes, the council’s portfolio holder for planning infrastructure and housing, said: “Making sure the bridge is safe is a priority, but in no way did we want to leave local passengers stranded without public transport.
“So we have worked with the local bus companies to introduce this shuttle bus and maintain the connection to make sure villagers can still travel where they need to.”
Bubwith Bridge had to be temporarily closed for a week, until December 2, to allow for urgent improvements to be made.
A diversion for all vehicles greater than three-tonnes and 2.2m in width, is now in place, until a later date when full repairs of Bubwith Bridge can be completed.
