Abbey Chesterton Bridge is installed over River Cam
The completed Abbey Chesterton bridge was installed at around 2am this morning (November 8).
The bridge is the latest stage of the Chisholm Trail, which links cyclists and pedestrians to and from the villages to the north of Cambridge – including Histon and Impington – to the centre of town. The trail, which is funded and being developed by the Greater Cambridge Partnership, is a mostly off-road and traffic-free route. It will provide a 26 kilometre route from Trumpington and Addenbrooke’s to St Ives. The central section from Cambridge central train station to Cambridge North train station is a 3.5 kilometre route.
Phase one of the north-south Chisholm Trail – which is funded by the Greater Cambridge Partnership – and the Abbey Chesterton Bridge, which is funded by Cambridgeshire County Council, is expected to be completed early next year.
The Abbey-Chesterton bridge sits between the bridge over the River Cam next to the Green Dragon pub in Chesterton, and the bridge at Baits Bite Lock further upstream towards Horningsea.
The project started with the closure of the jetty in August 2019. Pedestrians and cyclists either had to cross via the pedestrian bridge over the railway line on Stourbridge Common, or go via the Newmarket Road instead.
With a huge construction site created on either side of the bridge, the three main sections were delivered in May.
The installation was then delayed in August due to concerns about safety.
A plan to film the installation via drone last month was abandoned when regulators refused permission to fly within 50m of the cranes for safety reasons. In any case last night was foggy.
The jetty which links the foot and cycle paths between Ditton Meadows and Stourbridge Common was removed over the summer to enable construction to begin on the bridge. Though not open yet, it is expected to be reopened soon, allowing continuous pedestrian and cycling traffic to go from the centre of town to Fen Ditton.
