Harewood Bridge closure: Leeds council confirms early reopening date after completion of essential repairs

From around lunchtime on Friday, August 18 Harewood Bridge will fully reopen to vehicles after completing the essential maintenance works ahead of schedule, originally planned for Thursday, August 24.

The historic Grade II listed Harewood Bridge, which carries the A61 Leeds to Harrogate Road across the River Wharf at Harewood, shut for a period of four weeks on Wednesday, July 26. The important crossing sees 17,000 vehicles use it each day.

Leeds City Council along with construction partner Balfour Beatty have carried out waterproofing, resurfacing and foot path repair works. Previously the council has carried out temporary repair patches to extend the longevity of the carriageway, but these repairs could no longer continue without fixing the underlining problem.

Councillor Helen Hayden, Leeds City Council’s executive member for sustainable development and infrastructure, said: “I’m delighted to see Harewood Bridge re-open to vehicles after successfully completing the water proofing repairs and surfacing, almost a week ahead of schedule.

“I would like to thank people for their patience and apologise for any disruption during the works. Also, thank you to the team and contractors, for getting this important strategic route back open as quickly as possible.”

The replacement waterproofing will lead to benefits such as an increased reliability of journeys, a reduction in congestion caused by unplanned emergency closures for carriageway repairs and a reduced risk of accidents caused by potholes on the carriageway.

An overnight closure will be required probably in September, to complete some specialist surfacing work.