Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Director (DB).

The Executive received the report which sought funding to carry out an accelerated programme of inspections of all 27 bridges owned by Exeter City Council and to maintain a continuous programme of inspections in the future. The f bridges were previously inspected by an experienced engineer, but such inspections had ceased following cuts to local authority budgets. Regular inspections of the bridges would allow unsafe structures to be identified and repaired before they posed a significant risk to the public.

It was noted that the re-instatement of such inspections would bring the backlog of inspections up to date.

RECOMMENDED that Council approve:-

(1)  an additional budget of £150,000 to span the financial years for 2020-21 and 2021-22 to allow for the completion of the programme of Principal Inspections for all Exeter City Council owned bridges; and

(2)  an additional ongoing annual budget of £40,000, commencing in 2022-23, to fund a rolling programme of regular bridge inspections to be in line with the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges, which would involve inspections on a principal (six-yearly) and General (two-yearly) interval basis.