A TOP Cabinet secretary's visit to Worcester has sparked hope that a £70 million bid to dual Carrington Bridge is on the Government's agenda.

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid went to look at the congested A4440 bridge himself last week - just weeks before a crucial decision is due to be made.

Worcestershire County Council has lodged the massive bid with ministers, and is hoping to secure the cash from the 'Local Majors Transport Fund'.

Unless the money is in place, the current £42 million dualling of the Southern Link Road will finish in early 2019 at the point where the bridge starts, keeping it single-tracked.

Mr Javid, who is also a Tory MP in Bromsgrove, was lobbied over the bid by city leaders.

Worcester MP Robin Walker said: "It was good to get Sajid over and show him the bridge for himself.

"His department is partly responsible for the Local Majors Transport Fund so it's important he recognises the need to get it done."

Councillor Simon Geraghty, the county council's leader, said he will keep up the pressure.

"I was delighted Sajid took up my invitation to see first hand the work we are doing in the city to improve our infrastructure and tackle congestion," he said.

"His visit was a great opportunity to show him the progress we are making on dualling the southern link, and our plans for upgrading the final section between the Ketch and Powick islands to a dual carriageway.

Worcester News:

"Our bid to do this work is currently been assessed by Government, so the visit was well-timed to be able to demonstrate how important this is to reducing congestion and supporting economic growth."

The bridge, which dates back to 1984 at a cost of £2 million, carried over 30,000 vehicles a day and suffers torrid congestion.

Its creator, former county engineer Vivian Jones, who is now 85, has called the structure "over-loaded" and called for it to be dual-tracked.

The Carrington Bridge bid has been backed by all three MPs in south Worcestershire as well as business leaders, the county Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and its counterpart Herefordshire LEP.