Motorists expect chaos during Chislehurst Road bridge replacement

The bridge, which lies across a busy railway line, needs to be rebuilt after the posts holding it up were found to be deteriorating.

Only cyclists and pedestrians will be able to cross it.

Motorists will be diverted down either Poverest Road or Leesons Hill to Cray Avenue.

Phillip Pentney lives right next to the bridge and has endured two years of grief since width restriction posts were put in place stopping buses and lorries using the bridge.

The 53-year-old said: "There were some days when five or six lorries were turning round in my driveway. The grass verge is ripped to shreds."

Mr Pentney has also had to put up with road rage on his doorstep due to some drivers angered by others going too slowly. They have also hit the width restriction posts leaving glass on the road.

He said: "Sometimes when I go out in the car I have to go out with a broom and sweep glass from broken wing mirrors from the road.

"Rather than having this aggravation, that will all stop because the bridge won't be there. I've had it for two years and I think it's disgusting. Once the bridge is finished my life will be a lot easier."

Pensioner Margaret O' Connor, of Amhurst Drive, St Mary Cray, described November 7 as "nervous breakdown time".

The 73-year-old said: "I go to Chislehurst, Mottingham and Eltham quite a lot. Going down Cray Avenue will be a nightmare. It will be jammed, jammed and jammed.

"I'm sure it'll affect businesses too. The Nugent Centre will be avoided like the plague."

Dog-walker Ann-Marie Buffoni, aged 46, of Sheen Road, Petts Wood, uses the bridge every day to reach her customers.

She said: "It's going to be horrendous because I have to go across that bridge every afternoon to get to my customers. It means I will have to go all the way down to Sevenoaks Way five days a week.

"It's going to mean more fuel which I can't charge my customers. What annoys me is how the bridge has not been properly monitored over the years."

Also round the corner from the bridge in Hazelmere Drive, Petts Wood, Neil Wyatt says closing the railway line and replacing the trains with buses would mean the bridge would take much less time to be rebuilt.

The 65-year-old said: "It's going to be Nightmare on Chislehurst. Everyone in this area will be affected. To take a year and spend £4m is disgraceful. The reason they can't do it quicker is because of the railway.

"They could have closed the railway line and replaced trains with buses, and any decent engineer would have it sorted in a month or two."

Gill Wakenshaw, the owner of Paws, Claws ‘N’ Fins in Orpington High Street, is concerned about the impact the bridge closure will have on her pet shop and surrounding businesses.

She said: "Trade in Orpington has severely declined in the last few years, fueled by the high rents and the closure of many independent shops in the Walnuts and the high street. Now we have another hurdle to face.

"The closure of Chislehurst Road for such a long time will make it even more difficult to travel into Orpington and the customers who find other places to shop, which are more convenient, are unlikely to return."

'END SAT NAV DEPENDENCY'

Bromley Council's portfolio holder for environment Councillor Colin Smith said: “We’ve already established that doing nothing is simply not an option.

"An identical bridge to this one collapsed without warning several years ago and engineering studies show that this bridge is no longer structurally sound.

"We have worked hard to publicise the issues but we are acutely aware that the first few weeks in particular are likely to prove extremely difficult.

"I am once again urging motorists to avoid the area during rush hours unless their journey is absolutely critical, likewise to please end their Sat Nav dependency and to start reading the road signage carefully."

Click here for a map of the diversion routes.

How have you been affected by today's bridge closure? Leave your comments below.