A1 Wentbridge Viaduct project to be completed ahead of festive getaway

Road users and local residents are being thanked for their support and patience with news that long-running roadworks along the A1 near Pontefract in West Yorkshire will be completed early next month.

Traffic management along the A1 over Grade II listed Wentbridge Viaduct will be completely removed by National Highways by Sunday 7 December with the final phase of repairs, along the southbound carriageway, being completed next week. 

Narrowed lanes and a temporary, 50mph, speed limit along the northbound carriageway will be removed by Sunday (30 November).  This work will require a week of overnight  - 8pm to 6am - closures, beginning tonight (Monday 24 November) along the northbound carriageway. 

Then, from Monday of next week (1 December), nightly of 8pm to 6am southbound carriageway closures will be used to remove the current lane closure and 50mph limit along the southbound carriageway – completing the whole project well ahead of the Christmas holiday travel period.   

Some resurfacing and cyclical maintenance such as drainage clearance will also be done during the northbound and southbound carriageway closures. Drivers are being advised that some overnight lane closures may be needed in the new year for adjustment work as the newly-repaired section of road is monitored.

National Highways programme delivery manager John Stebbing said:

“We know road users and residents alike will be pleased that we’ve been able to complete this very complex project, which included both the viaduct and a local road bridge, ahead of the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

“Once again we’d like to thank road users but especially local residents for their patience and support since we started these vital repairs back in 2023.”

Work to repair the viaduct, which carries the A1 over the River Went, started in February 2023. The waterproofing and resurfacing scheme was run concurrently with a major project at nearby Wentedge Road bridge which carries a local road, linking local communities, over the A1.  That work included replacing the bridge pier in the central reservation of the A1 with a brand new support as well as embankment improvements.

Doing both projects at the same time has enabled traffic management along the A1 to be combined and reduce future inconvenience for drivers.

Construction of both the local Wentedge Road bridge and Wentbridge Viaduct was completed in 1961 as part of a project to move the A1 away from Wentedge village with a new two-mile bypass between Doncaster and Pontefract. 

At almost 100 feet high and 470 feet long the pre-stressed concrete Wentbridge viaduct was the largest of its kind in Europe at the time and was officially opened in December 1961, a month after completion. Its design quickly caught the eye of modernists and it was officially listed by Historic England in 1998.

Mr Stebbing said: 

“The viaduct’s listed status brought its own challenges.  And while delivering the overhaul of Wentedge Road bridge at the same time has meant added value and reduced inconvenience for road users and residents in the future, it did mean the project has taken longer than originally anticipated. Once again we’d like to thank drivers and local residents for their patience and support over the last nearly three years.”