Scott Street Bridge made famous by Banksy to be demolished

Scott Street Bridge was decommissioned in 1994 and was recently targeted by the famous artist.

Hull Daily Mail writes:

A specialist contractor has been appointed to dismantle Scott Street Bridge with work due to start as soon as possible.

The grade two-listed bridge, which was decommissioned in the 1990s, was thrust into the limelight in January 2018 when Banksy used it as a canvas to create a work depicting a figure of a young boy brandishing a pencil for a sword called ‘Draw the Raised Bridge’.

The artwork was carefully removed in October and moved to a safe location while a decision is made on where it should be displayed.

But now the bridge itself is set to finally disappear as Hull City Council announced civil contractor Eric Wright Group has been appointed to carry out the work following an open tender process.

Plans to remove the grade two-listed bridge were developed in conjunction with Historic England, after the structure was deemed as a risk to river traffic.

Councillor Daren Hale, portfolio holder for economic investment and regeneration, said: “Following the successful removal of the Banksy, we can now proceed with the rest of the dismantling of Scott Street Bridge.

“Our ambition is to rebuild a replica of Scott Street Bridge during phase two of the works and we can only do this with the help of specialist contractors.

“It will be a complex operation, but we want to ensure that the process is handled as sensitively as possible.”

The Banksy currently remains in secure storage and options for its restoration are being discussed.

Scott Street Bridge closed to traffic in 1994, due to its extremely poor structural and mechanical condition. Since then, the bridge has remained in the raised, upright position, structurally supported by steel ties.

Current inspections of its condition have concluded that dismantlement and removal is now the only viable course of action to prevent an uncontrolled collapse of the structure.

The contractor was due to begin work to the bridge in April but there are delays due to the coronavrius outbreak.

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For background see the IHBC NewsBlog

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