The Existing Road Bridge

The existing B9033 road bridge has a 2 metre wide footway. The advantages of using the road bridge are:

• Bridge construction costs are eliminated
• Construction impact on the river is eliminated

There are significant disadvantages:

• The crossing point is some distance from the car park
• The crossing point is not on the perceived walking desire line
• Adjacent road traffic would make for an unpleasant user experience
• Adjacent road traffic would pose a hazard to coastal path users, albeit low risk
• It is not linked to the coastal path

In addition, the through route for walkers would logically then follow the former railway trackbed from the bridge through to Cairnbulg. Whilst this has its advantages, there are also disadvantages in that:

• Around 2 miles of the “coastal” path would not then be strictly coastal
• The trackbed has been severed by a local business, requiring a local diversion of the through route

The Former Rail Bridge

The abutments and centre piers for the former railway bridge remain in-situ and appear to be in good condition. They would be capable of reuse as a footbridge. The advantages of reusing existing foundations are:

• Construction impact on the river is much reduced
• Substructure costs are eliminated
• There would be no hazard to coastal path users from road traffic

These advantages are significant.

There are disadvantages however:

• The crossing point is some distance from the car park
• The crossing point is not on the perceived walking desire line
• The crossing point is very close to the existing road bridge
• It is not linked to the coastal path
• Traffic noise arising from the proximity to the existing road would be intrusive

In addition, as with Site I, the through route for walkers would logically then follow the former railway trackbed from the bridge through to Cairnbulg. The advantages and disadvantages of using the former railway trackbed are the same as for Site 1 above.

There are two options for re-decking. The first option is to re-deck to match the width between existing wing walls resulting in a 4.25m wide deck, wider and more costly than necessary. The second and more appropriate option is to re-deck with say a 2m wide deck with flared handrails at each end to match the width between existing wing walls and to close the gap.

A New Bridge near the Car Park

There is a good potential crossing point at the north west corner of the nature reserve. The river channel is well defined and the banks appear to be stable. It is close to the boardwalk for easy access to and from the car park. Although there are advantages to using this site, there are also disadvantages:

• Approximately 1 mile of new footpath needs constructed
• The area affected is currently pristine and not disturbed to any significant extent

A New Bridge near the Shoreline

The river channel is fairly well defined up until the shoreline, beyond which it becomes increasingly wide, shallow and unstable as the river runs across the beach. It is possible to cross the river close to the shoreline but still just within the dunes, before the river reaches the shoreline and widens out, just downstream of the wider stretch. The advantage of crossing here is;

• The length of new footpath required is reduced to approximately 0.8 miles.

The disadvantages are;

• Being closer to the shoreline, there is a higher risk of storm activity affecting the dunes and altering the river channel. Anecdotal evidence is that the width of the river channel is fairly stable at around 16 metres but nevertheless, there is a significant risk of channel movement.
• There are localised areas of very soft sand in the vicinity and the link from the dunes on the north bank to the bridge would have to be on boardwalk.

A Crossing on the Shoreline

At the shoreline, the river channel becomes less well defined and becomes shallower and wider as it runs down the beach. Its location will be affected by storm activity and will therefore be prone to sudden realignment. Nevertheless, the water depth is shallow and it is possible to construct a crossing provided that it extends far enough on either bank to allow for river realignment. Such a crossing would take the form of a boardwalk rather than a bridge, albeit set at a higher level than usual above the beach. The advantages of this site are:

• It is on the desire line for walkers
• It would not require any associated footpaths to be constructed
• It would truly be a “coastal” path

There are disadvantages however:

• It would be very exposed
• It would require frequent inspection & maintenance after bad weather