Cumbrian bridge named after heroic PC
PC Bill Barker
Also In The News
|
By Darren Estwick. |  |
Monday, 07, Dec 2009 11:02
By Sarah Garrod.
A new bridge built in a Cumbrian town devastated by recent flooding has been named after a police officer who died after being swept away in the flood waters.
Barker Crossing in Workington, which has been built by the army, has been named after PC Bill Barker who was directing traffic on the Northside Bridge when it collapsed on November 20th.
Workington was cut in half by the flood waters, but the two halves have now been reunited by the temporary footbridge across the River Derwent, with schoolchildren the first to make the walk across the new crossing. It is the first time since the floods that people in the area will be able to cross to the other side of the town without using a train.
The news came as a warning from the Met Office said as much as 15mm of rain could fall this morning, with the north-west of England on a severe weather warning of heavy rain.
Inspector Mark Wear, who heads up Workington neighbourhood policing team, said: "This footbridge is a tangible symbol of how we are starting to rebuild the area and getting back to normal.
"I am pleased that its name commemorates my friend and colleague Bill, who died saving lives right here in Workington. He was committed to serving his community and for him to be remembered in this way is a tribute to his memory."
The construction of Barker Crossing has been co-ordinated by 42 (North West) Brigade, the regional army brigade for north-west England, with input from Royal Engineers, Royal Logistic Corps, Royal Signals, and Royal Military Police. Armed forces minister Bill Rammell attended the opening of the new bridge alongside Brigadier Bill Aldridge, Commander 42 (North West) Brigade.
Brigadier Aldridge said: "The army is delighted to have completed this small but significant part of a much larger and wider effort to help this part of Cumbria get back on its feet after the floods. Our soldiers have worked round-the-clock to get us to where we are today, opening this footbridge on time to meet the morning school run."
The 52-metre steel bridge spans the river at a relatively narrow part of the river where the river banks are structurally sound around 300m upstream (east) of the now unusable Calva Bridge.
Councillor Jim Buchanan, leader of Cumbria county council, said: "There has been a massive effort on all fronts to get to where we are today. There's clearly still a huge amount of work still to do and I appreciate that people are getting frustrated with the travel delays and are keen to be able to cross the river by road as soon as possible.
"We're pulling out all the stops to make that happen but the reality is that a temporary road bridge is a far bigger project than the temporary footbridge that the army has done such a magnificent job of constructing so quickly."
In the immediate aftermath of the floods, 20 road bridges were closed, plus three which had collapsed completely.