Plymouth bridge to be demolished as major changes announced

A landmark Plymouth bridge is set to be demolished as major changes to the road network are announced in the city.

The ‘seagull’ railway structure on Embankment Road – which has caught out lorries in the past – is being removed in an effort to make the route safer after it was first mooted in 2021. The removal of the 4.8m redundant bridge will ensure larger HGVs can pass through.

It was previously identified the bridge prevented high vehicles from using Embankment Road – for example those used by Royal Mail to access the postal sorting depot on Breakwater Road and so therefore forcing detours via Mutley or through Cot Hill.

The work comes as Plymouth scoops £6.35m in funding for major road improvements. The overall focus will be on Plymouth’s Major Road Network (MRN), which links the A38 junctions at Weston Mill and Marsh Mills via the city centre and forms a critical route from the east and west of the city.

The Plymouth MRN route provides vital connections between the A38 and the major employment areas at the Dockyard and Naval Base at Devonport, the Oceansgate Enterprise Zone, to the Continental Ferry Port, and to the City Centre and Waterfront Growth area. The new £6.35m funding is made up of funding secured from the Department for Transport (DfT), the Environment Agency (EA) and Strategic Transport s106 developer contributions.

It will allow the Council to draw up detailed designs of potential improvements to the route, needed for the final bid to the DfT to secure the funding for construction, with the aim of improving air quality and reducing congestion. The current traffic flow on the MRN is understandably high, with traffic building up at peak times.

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To address this, the proposed scheme has been developed to include a number of improvements focussing on providing enhanced capacity for road users, greater pedestrian and cycle connectivity and protecting critical rail and road infrastructure and properties from flooding events.

The key elements of the scheme are:

• Junction improvements at the A38 Marsh Mills Roundabout, Camel’s Head and Ferndale Road/Carlton Terrace junctions to increase capacity and improve priority for buses
• Part-widening of the St Budeaux By-pass to increase the merge length
• New and improved pedestrian and cycle infrastructure including high-quality segregated pedestrian and cycleways along St. Budeaux Bypass and Embankment Road, a new cycle ramp to improve links to the existing cycle network near Gdynia Way, and crossing points at the Marsh Mills, Camel’s Head and Carlton Terrace/Ferndale Road junctions
• Removal of the redundant low rail bridge on A374 Embankment Road (Seagull Bridge) to allow the larger double deck HGVs to use the route
• Flood protection works at Arnold’s Point on Embankment Road
• Carriageway reconstruction and renewal works of targeted sections of the MRN

Councillor Mark Coker, Cabinet member for Transport, said: “I’m delighted to have obtained this funding and to be in the once-in-a-generation position of being able to improve some of our busiest routes and junctions. This scheme will improve a number of our most important routes and upgrade them to modern standards. A focus on sustainable transport will be absolutely key as we prepare Plymouth for a carbon neutral future.”

It is estimated that staggered construction on the scheme will begin in the early 2026 and end in Spring 2027. More information can be found on the scheme website www.plymouth.gov.uk/mrn.