Furious Padworth residents slam bridge closure plans

The bridge, used by motorists and pedestrians, will be closed from September 20 for reconstruction in order to accommodate new trains ahead of the electrification of the Great Western Railway.
A temporary footbridge will be put in place for pedestrians, while a one-way and two-way traffic diversion will be in place.
However, the move has angered many residents, who have been in touch with the Newbury Weekly News to express their concerns.
In a letter to the editor, Michael Potter, of Lodge Farm, said: “A considerable number of people - residents, businesses, schools and commuters - will be seriously inconvenienced and face much additional financial burden by yet another extended closure of this busy road.”
When speaking to the NWN this week, Mr Potter added: “I travel to Newbury three or four times a week and last time the bridge closed I worked out it was costing me an extra £100 a week to do the same journey.
“I’ve lived here for 40 years so fortunately know some of the shortcuts, but it’s huge inconvenience.”
In another letter to the NWN last week, David Evered, of Rectory Road, Padworth Common, said: “The consequences of this closure are substantial.
He added: “This has been a signal failure of forward thinking on the part of Network Rail and little effort has been made to mitigate the impact on the local community through devising ways in which the period of closure can be minimised.”
Padworth Parish Council chairman Keith Gilbert said: “It is a mess and a total shambles. The detour is miles long and is going to cost a lot of extra petrol and inconvenience a lot of people.
“For me to go the the top of the road, which is less than a quarter-of-a-mile away, I am going to have to make a three or four mile journey.”
Network Rail said that electrification of the line would bring faster services and additional capacity to major UK cities, along the Great Western Main Line between London, Reading, Bristol, Cardiff and Swansea.
It added that it would deliver more reliable, greener and quieter journeys for thousands of passengers and improve one of Britain's busiest and oldest railways by connecting major towns and cities, making journeys smoother and more comfortable for passengers.
The centre span of the structure will be replaced with a prefabricated filler beam enabling an increase in clearance from rail to the underside of the bridge.