Waitings clean up at Pooley Bridge

by Nick Drew | Tue 16 Feb 2016

Waitings clean up at Pooley Bridge

Cumbrian based Waitings Drainage and Pipeline Contractors have been in touch to share some photos from various jobs they have been involved in recently, including a tidy up operation at the iconic Pooley Bridge which was washed away during Storm Desmond in December last year.

Long established local company Waitings were selected by the local authority as a specialist contractor to take on the sensitive job of removing the historic stone work and remains of the historic bridge over the River Eamont that dates back as far as 1764, which was dramatically washed away during the devastating aftermath of Storm Desmond last year, effectively cutting off the village from the south. Pooley Bridge

On this project Waitings deployed a large Hyundai excavator and a JCB articulated dumptruck from their extensive fleet of machines. The machine was used to pluck the large lumps of stone that had stood as part of the iconic bridge for over 300 years. Pooley Bridge 3

This operation was challenging work as some services were clearly still hanging down from what remained of the bridge, although I would suspect they were isolated during the course of the works. Pooley Bridge

It is believed that a temporary river crossing will be in place by Easter with Cumbria County Council confirming that a temporary bridge will be brought in at a cost of some £300,000 with funding coming from a £40m government aid package. Pooley Bridge (2)

During the course of the clear up operation works, Waitings Site Manager, named only as Richard, spotted a very special stone, which had become buried in the riverbed and was dated with the mark 1868. It’s unclear what will happen to the old stone in the future but one would suspect some of it may be used for historical purposes in the construction of a new permanent bridge. Stone from Pooley Bridge

We thank Waitings Drainage and Pipeline Contractors for getting in touch and sharing these photos with us here on the Digger Man Blog, lookout for more over the coming weeks.

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