ENGINEERS will not be able to start work on a new £2 million foot and cycle bridge over the river Severn in Worcester until next month.

It was hoped that the project to link the new development at Diglis with Lower Wick would have started this month after the third river crossing in the city gained planning permission at county level five weeks ago.

But the scheme, which is part funded by the Nat-ional Lottery and Worces-tershire County Council, has been delayed due to officers finalising planning conditions. A county council spokesman said: “Work on the Diglis bridge will start in November. We haven’t got an exact start date but it will be earlier rather than later.”

The delay means the new 66-metre (217ft) long bridge, largely made out of recycled materials and monitored by CCTV, will probably be ready for people to walk and ride across by July instead of June.

We previously reported in your Worcester News how the new city bridge is part of the Sustrans Con-nect2 sustainable transport project, which won a public vote in the People’s £50 million lottery contest in December 2007. The lottery is contributing £850,000 towards the bridge and “associated works” to near-by foot and cycle paths.

The county council is paying £1.2 million from a pot of section 106 money – funds contributed towards public open spaces by developers who have gained planning permission – and successful bids to the Government.

The bridge, which will have wheelchair access, will be at least 16 metres (52.5ft) above normal river levels and will comprise two tapered square sections forming an ‘A’ frame, with a 26.5-metre (87ft) painted steel tower.

Low-level lighting, which matches that already on the Weir Lane footpath, will illuminate the bridge between dusk and dawn.

As the bridge’s location slightly impacts on the Battlefield of Worcester, an interpretation board will also be installed.