Highways England Demolishes Bridge On A38 Near Plymouth

Highways England has demolished a road bridge on the A38 as part of a £6.3 million maintenance scheme near Plymouth.

The old Merafield Bridge at Plympton was levelled overnight on 14 May.

A new bridge has been built alongside the old structure and is part of a Government scheme to deliver £15 billion in upgrades to motorways and major A-roads.

Around 50kgs of explosives were used for the demolition, contained within 278 drilled locations concentrated around the supporting piers and the abutments at each end.


The new structure is around 80 meters long, 11.3 metres wide and made of 2,503 tonnes of concrete and 401 tonnes of steel.

South West Regional Director, Andrew Page-Dove, said: "This was a big project that needed extensive planning to ensure traffic around Plymouth was kept flowing smoothly and the vital A38 transport link between Devon, Plymouth and South East Cornwall was maintained."

Work will now begin on clearing away the debris from the demolished structure, completing drainage on Merafield Road, finishing works on the new bridge and reinstating the road markings on the A38.

The scheme is due to be fully completed by July.



(LM/MH)