The Whitchurch Bridge is back

The 112-year-old bridge closed for an estimated £4.3m-worth of repairs in October last year.
The privately-owned toll bridge was expected to reopen in April but a combination of the winter floods and opening the river to boats set the project back until July and then September, bringing the final costs of the repair work to £5.8m.
The closure has affected business in Pangbourne, with some companies reporting a 25 per cent drop in trade.
The Grade-II listed bridge reopened to traffic on Friday, with free tolls for motorists until Wednesday, September 24.
Local people celebrated the reopening of the vital route for traders with members of the Whitchurch Bridge Company and contractors Balfour Beatty.
Around two million people cross the bridge every year.
A De Dion car, built in the same year as the bridge and one of the world’s oldest working automobiles, was driven through a tape in the centre of the bridge to formally reopen the structure.
The company secretary of the Whitchurch Bridge Company, Geoff Weir, said: “Our bridge is an important route over the Thames for local people and we are delighted that it has reopened after its reconstruction. The Balfour Beatty site team has done a great job for us.”
The work included partial demolition of the existing four-span bridge, while the existing piers were retained, along with the original lattice girders being refurbished before the bridge was strengthened.
Balfour Beatty regional managing director Neil Patterson said: “This has been a challenging project with the worst floods in recent memory and restrictions on the river affecting the programme.
“However, through close working with the Whitchurch Bridge Company and liaising with key stakeholders, we have been able to minimise the impact and deliver a reconstruction which is sympathetic to the original design and stronger, allowing for its use through the 21st century.”