A TOLL bridge near the Powys border was forced to close for several hours due to a speeding gas tanker yesterday (April 24).

Whitney Bridge, just over the Powys-Herefordshire border, was shut just after midday on April 24 due to the speeding HGV.

The bridge was shut for several hours while safety checks were carried out. It reopened at around 3.37pm.

“At approximately 12.10pm a Compass gas tanker coming from Clifford, having disregarded all the 7.5 tonne maximum gross weight signage, crossed the bridge doing at least 20mph,” read a post on the Whitney Bridge Facebook page.

“The vehicle bounced and we heard a substantial crack, which meant that we need to close the bridge to (do) a safety check.

“Whilst we are confident that the road timbers are all ok, we have to ascertain whether one of the supports hasn't been damaged, which we will be doing shortly.”

Whitney Bridge is one of few privately owned toll bridges in the UK.

The post added: “Given a rather troublesome conversation with a bridge user today, I think it is timely to remind folks that whilst the bridge is privately owned and maintained, it is a public highway forever, with owners or their charges being able to charge a toll.

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“This means that as a public highway the bridge owners are responsible for the safety of all users.

“Herefordshire County Council set the weight limit to 7.5 tonnes maximum gross weight. That means the total weight of vehicle, trailer and goods MUST not exceed 7.5 tonnes. We can and will penalise up to £1,000 for overweight vehicles.

“The speed limit is 5 mph for a reason, vehicles travelling faster tend to bounce and that causes damage to the surface and struts, especially vehicles with trailers.

“The traffic lights are designed to protect the flow from (the) A438 so not to cause a jam on the slip road. Also to stop two vehicles from being on the bridge at the same time.”