£11.5m bridge for Hull '˜won't be ready for City of Culture'

It came after the Highways Agency told Hull Council that it would not be completed until November - just months after making public assurances that it would be ready next Spring.

It’s a huge blow to the city, but Hull Council leader Steve Brady insisted this morning they were confident that contingency plans would work and insisted the Hull 2017 team were “relaxed” about the situation.

Coun Brady said they were not prepared to accept the disruption caused by works on the bridge during nearly the City of Culture year.

He said: “Of course it is very, very disappointing because of the assurances that we were given.

“But of course when they cam back and said they couldn’t complete it until November and they were willing to go ahead, we said no, that’s not acceptable and that’s why the decision was made to start it in early 2018.

“The idea is that the A63 scheme starts at the same time so they will both be dovetailed into the total scheme.

“The Culture company is very relaxed about it and very relaxed with the contingency arranegments.”

The contingency plans, he said, involved widening the central gap where people waited to cross the busy road.

Only last October Highways England Project Manager Jimmy Holmes said: “Now planning permission and funding has been granted, we are on track to enable the bridge to be in place by Easter 2017 as an early phase of the main Castle Street scheme.”