Collapsed road reopens to commuters

The road is partially open during repairs

An important Bristol commuter route has partly re-opened after emergency repairs to damage caused by a burst water main.

More than 2,000 tonnes of rock have been used to shore up the A4 Portway, which collapsed into the River Avon.

The road was closed last week when a 27-inch main burst close to the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

The water destroyed a 70-metre embankment between the road and the river.

Repairs will take months

Up to 700 limestone boulders, each weighing about three tonnes, are being used to build up the damaged embankment.

Engineers worked around the clock so the road could be re-opened as quickly as possible.

Two lanes of the four-lane road have been re-opened.

There is a six foot six inches width restriction and vehicles over 3.5 tonnes are banned.

Bristol city council chief executive, Graham Robertson said: "The speed at which this repair and recovery operation has been carried out is impressive.

Back to normal

"Credit should be given to Bristol Water, the other public utilities and our own engineers who have pulled out all the stops to ensure that the road can be re-opened.

"There is a lot of work still to be done over the coming months, but everyone is committed to returning this busy commuter route back to normal as soon as is practically possible."

It is expected to be several months before all the work is completed.