National Highways confirms plans to replace long-closed Moss Lane Bridge near Formby

National Highways has confirmed its intention to demolish the long-closed Moss Lane Bridge near Formby and replace it with a new structure, allowing the road to reopen to vehicles.

The announcement was highlighted by the HRE Group, which campaigns to protect historic railway structures. A visualisation has also been released showing what the replacement bridge could look like.

This is the HRE Artists impression of what the new bridge could look like

According to the HRE Group, the decision follows discussions with local consultees. However, it says no alternative options were presented to National Highways’ Stakeholder Advisory Forum, which was established to scrutinise proposals involving the demolition or infilling of former railway bridges.

Under the proposals, the new bridge would be built at a lower level and would span only the Cheshire Lines Brook rather than both the brook and the Cheshire Lines Path. As a result, walkers, cyclists and other users of the Cheshire Lines Path would have to leave the trail, climb up to road level, cross the road, and then rejoin the path on the other side, instead of continuing underneath the bridge as they could previously.

The HRE Group believes the shorter bridge span could reduce construction costs but argues it would also remove the existing grade-separated crossing, making the route less convenient and potentially less safe for active travel users.

Photo by HRE Shows cyclists at the moment can go under the bridge but with the new bridge they will not be able to

The proposals are expected to be submitted for planning permission later this year. The HRE Group is encouraging residents and consultees to make the case for the Cheshire Lines Path to continue passing beneath the bridge as part of the final design.

Shows the access to the bridge remains closed after over a year