The footbridge across the weir at Abingdon Lock remains closed, with no indication of when it might reopen. Despite being shut for safety reasons on April 22nd due to corrosion in the structure, there is no visible work on site and no updates on site from the Environment Agency on a repair schedule.
This closure cuts off a popular circular walk across the Thames and leaves many walkers, runners, and visitors upset. The route is particularly well-used during the summer months and has long been part of daily life in Abingdon.
,🎶it’s beginning to look a lot like state failure
Everywhere you go
I think that’s what they call cutting the back office…let’s be honest the public sector has been decimated by cuts and no one wants to pay for decent services.
The private sector would, I suspect , keep this closed for good as there ain’t any money to be made…,
Marsh Lock Bridge (Henley) closed in May 2022.
Temple Bridge (Marlow) closed in May 2023.
Both remain closed with no committed reopening dates (or active repair work at this time).
Abingdon Weir is currently at the back of a short but very slow moving queue…
What did the Victorians do for us?
Their entrepreneurs saw value in improving the amenities of civic life: sewers, parks, housing, art galleries, concert halls, libraries, museums, roads, rail, canals.
What are we doing?
Watching that inheritance decay. Public life is maintained by a system that “knows the price of everything and the value of nothing,”
Well, of course, Oscar Wilde was a Victorian…
What does the lock keeper think about going onto the ‘corroded’ walkway to operate the weir gates when necessary?
He can’t. When the river rises, he won’t be able to open the sluices. I’ll leave you to predict the outcome of that.
Millions can be found for road building which will be overwhelmed in a couple of years, but a fraction of that amount to repair a footbridge and promote active transport? No chance.
Depressing the state of this country
If the weir cannot be maintained and remains closed, Oxford Basin will flood. If the weir subsequently fails, Abingdon becomes Abingdon-IN Thames, as does Culham. This stretch of the Thames then non-navigable. That’s where the money lies !
It’s not popular here to defend the Environment Agency, but I will have a go. A previous Prime Minister cut it’s budget by £300M when she was Environment Secretary in the name of efficiency savings. So the EA has difficult choices.
So if “corrosion in the structure” implies the footpath handrails are unsafe but the weir is stable for several years then it will possibly never be fixed as the EA will have far more important issues to deal with
If it is the actual structure of the weir is unsafe and could then result in catastrophic funding then it maybe used to lobby the Government to increase funding.
As with all things in the modern world – efficiency savings can only go so far
I think there’s a strong chance someone will turn up with bolt croppers and forcibly open it up again at some point.