Emergency road closure in place – after part of Grade II listed Derbyshire railway bridge collapses

An emergency road closure is currently in place on Lea Road in Dronfield between The Forge and the junction with Chesterfield Road.

This is due to an incident involving a bridge strike which saw a part of the structure fall down onto the road below in the early hours of Sunday, July 27.

Lea Road bridge is a grade II listed multi-arch L-shaped masonry bridge structure built in 1870 for the Midland Railway's Chesterfield to Sheffield line.

Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Potholes, Highways and Transport, Councillor Charlotte Hill said: “We are aware of this accident and the damage it has caused. The bridge is actually the responsibility of Network Rail.

"However one of our officers went out yesterday to look at the damage and asked for traffic lights to be put on Chesterfield Road, which runs under the bridge, just as a precaution. We will inspect the bridge again today.”

A Network Rail spokesperson said: "Yesterday morning, our teams were made aware of a bridge strike incident near Dronfield station.

"Our engineers attended the site, assessed the damage, and are now undertaking urgent repair works to the bridge structure.

"Traffic management measures remain in place whilst repairs are undertaken.

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused and will provide updates as work progresses."