An historic bridge in a village between Llanidloes and Newtown has been repaired more than a decade after it was damaged.

The Grade II*-listed Llandinam Bridge was fixed by Powys County Council earlier this month after a vehicle "heavily damaged" the cast iron parapet 11 years ago.

New steelwork was installed to shore up the damaged parapet sections and allow the removal of a temporary support which had been in place since 2014.

Llandinam Bridge, which was built in 1846, is one of the first iron bridges in the county. The construction of the foundations and approaches was the first public contract for the famous industrialist, David Davies, who was born in Llandinam.

County Councillor for Llandinam, Karl Lewis said the campaign to get the bridge repaired had been "one of the most challenging tasks" since he was elected in 2017.

"I knew that this would take a few years to complete as there were many hoops, hurdles, and red tape I needed to jump and cut through. It was one of the most challenging tasks I have completed as a councillor.

"In 2017, many people including friends said it would be very difficult or impossible to complete. The repair had to rank itself against other highway issues in the whole of Powys."

 

The new Llandinam Bridge bollards. Picture by Anwen Parry/County Times

The new Llandinam Bridge bollards. Picture by Anwen Parry/County Times

 

He added: "Getting the funding in place was the first job. Not only that, I had to satisfy demands from Cadw, Built Heritage, Powys Ecology, officers in Powys Highways, the Trunk Road Agency to name but a few. A lot of hard work and multiple meetings have taken place with all concerned.

"The repair itself took only two days! Crazy, I know. It was all worth it as we have our bridge back again!

"The bollards have already served their purpose to protect the bridge. As on Tuesday morning [October 5] a bollard was hit taking a big impact which resulted in the top of the bollard breaking off. That could have been one of the big stones that is attached to the bridge rails which could have resulted in further damage to the bridge."

Cllr Lewis added that the broken bollard would be repaired with a new sleeve.

A Powys County Council spokesperson said: "Bollards were also installed on the approach to the bridge with the aim of providing better protection to the structure in future."