Defects discovered beneath the Eamont footbridge nearly a year ago during a survey carried out for Westmorland and Furness Council that included a recommendation to close the footbridge have still not been repaired — and the bridge remains open for daily public use.
An underwater inspection carried out on 13th July 2025 examined both 601-year-old Eamont Bridge, which carries thousands of vehicles along the A6 across the River Eamont every week and the neighbouring steel footbridge as part of a regular inspection of structures carried out on behalf of Westmorland and Furness Council.
Alongside some defects and cracks in the stonework of the historic road bridge recommended for repairs, inspectors identified more serious concerns beneath the metal footbridge used daily by pedestrians and cyclists.
The inspection found corroded sections on the bridge and four detached cross bracings between the main girders of the footbridge that had corroded and snapped away from the structure.
The report recommended the council consider closing the footpath and replacing the defective cross bracing beneath the footpath across the bridge.
Cross bracing is designed to stabilise steel structures and prevent sideways movement or twisting. Detached bracing members can reduce rigidity and overall resilience under load. Despite that recommendation, the bridge has not been closed and repair works are yet to be carried out.
Westmorland and Furness Councils was asked for comment on the finding of the report and the footbridge condition, A spokesperson for Westmorland and Furness Council said:
"Westmorland and Furness Council maintains 2,330 structures, including 1,075 bridges. We inspect our bridges and structures as part of our duty as a Highway Authority.
"The results we collect help us to sort and manage programmes of work to ensure the highway remains safe.
"In the case of Eamont Bridge and the neighbouring footbridge, inspections and reports have itemised various works that require undertaking.
"Each year we collate a schedule of all defects and recommendations for all of our bridges to allow us to develop a prioritised programme of works that are required as a high priority. In this regard we plan to undertake the following work to the Eamont bridges in financial year 2026/27: repair the bracing members to the footbridge; some localised repair works to the handrails of the footbridge; and localised masonry restoration works to the road bridge.
"The partial loss of isolated bracing members to the underside of the footbridge is something that we were already aware of prior to receiving the Dive Report. Regular monitoring of the bridge has shown no signs of distortion or structural distress.
"The main structural members of this bridge are closed steel tube sections, the inside of which cannot routinely be checked to determine their condition. We undertook intrusive investigations in 2022, with help from a specialist in this field. We found that the tubes were in very good condition, with no signs of corrosion or section loss.
"We have also engaged with the former chief engineer of a major bridge engineering company who has a wealth of experience of this type of bridge. He has visited the site and he has confirmed that the bridge can remain open. He will be working with us to consider and design appropriate repairs which we plan to implement shortly.
"Although we welcome the reporting of issues observed by our various specialist contractors who help us with the task of inspecting and maintaining the council's structures stock, it should be noted in this case that the dive company specialises in assessing the condition of the underwater elements of the structure, mainly as a result of scour. As such, they were not commissioned to assess the structural integrity of the deck elements of the footbridge, and their comments – and recommendation that we consider closure of the footbridge – have been considered in this context, and based on the investigation, ongoing specialist advice and our monitoring and inspection regime, we believe that the footbridge remains safe for pedestrian use, and there is no need to consider closure at this time.
"Anybody who is concerned about a bridge or structure the council is responsible for can contact us through our website or the Highways Hotline (Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm) on 0300 373 3306."
For now, the footbridge continues to carry daily pedestrian and cycle traffic while repairs to the detached bracing members are planned for a future programme of works.
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