Drivers have been warned of new restrictions on a major bridge, which will be in place for the foreseeable future.
Newport City Council has placed a 7.5 tonne weight restriction for HGVs on the George Street Bridge in a bid to protect the grade II listed structure.
The restrictions came into effect on August 1, with drivers now urged to follow the rules and diversion route to avoid facing penalties.
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While the weight limit aims to help support the bridge structure and prevent further damage, the council has been unable to announce a timeline for the ban, which could cause additional delays to drivers.
The ban will force HGV drivers and buses to follow a diversion
|NEWPORT CITY COUNCIL
The bridge is used daily by tens of thousands of vehicles, with a significant proportion of HGVs heading into the city.
The council stated: "We need to reduce the load on the bridge, in order to keep it open for most traffic. This means restricting HGVs from using the bridge for the time being, while we carry out further investigations.
"While we continue our investigations, we are satisfied that the bridge is safe to use for traffic under the 7.5 tonne weight, so residents and commuters who use the bridge will be unaffected by these restrictions."
To help drivers, the council has put a diversion route in place, which will be via Usk Way, the A48 SDR, and Corporation Road.
The bridge was closed to HGVs over 7.5 tonnes on August 1
|GOOGLE MAPS
The council added: "The weight restriction will be in place until such time as we are able to lift it. This will depend on further investigations.
"We will be working with Gwent Police to enforce this weight restriction. We will provide regular updates on our social media channels as and when they are available."
The ban follows existing schemes by National Highways, which is currently performing essential repairs and improvements to the George Street Bridge.
The bridge carries the M5 over the railway line near junction 21 for Weston-super-Mare, with the work "critical for the safety of everyone who uses this busy stretch of road".
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The improvement works include structural concrete repairs, bridge bearing replacement, steel beam re-painting under the bridge, replacing the road surface, waterproofing and replacing the barriers on the bridge.
The agency shared: "We're resurfacing the M5 junction 21 southbound exit slip road. To do this, the southbound exit slip road will be closed overnight Thursday, August 28 and Friday, August 29, between the hours of 8pm and 6am.
A signed diversion will be in place for vehicles travelling southbound that need to leave the motorway."
Residents have been left furious due to vital bus routes now having to follow diversions, with the number 7 bus being put on a diversion route.
The new weight restrictions will push thousands of HGVs on detoured routes | GETTYTaking to social media, drivers have shared their frustration over the restrictions, with one person sharing: "One lorry at a time, 7.5 tonnes, 50 cars at a time, 75 tonnes? Makes sense."
Someone else shared: "The Southern Distributor Road is heavy with traffic as it's the go-to route when the M4 is on its daily status, which involves being at a standstill.
"While good public transport routes would and should ease some congestion, any proposals, let alone implementation for that, remain a long way off.
"The George St bridge status cannot have just been discovered, as I am sure years of inspections would have identified problems."