Wonky bridge to remain closed for months

A city centre footbridge which was left partially hanging after a dramatic malfunction is due to be back in service by next spring.

Pero's Bridge, which spans Bristol's floating harbour, was shut a month ago after it broke down during a test lift, leaving the middle section standing at a wonky angle.

A £1.35m maintenance scheme to remove the bridge spans and repair them was due to be carried out in November but is now expected to happen sooner.

Councillor Andrew Brown, chair of the Harbour Committee, said: "We appreciate everyone's patience [but] when we return the bridge to service it will be fully refurbished with significant upgrades - improving the bridges' reliability and functionality."

The popular pedestrian bridge, which links Queen Square and Millennium Square, opened in 1999.

The council has already ruled out the high temperatures on the day it failed as a cause for the mechanical issue and investigations are now focusing on its hydraulic lifting system, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Patsy Mellor from Bristol City Council said: "It's far too early to commit, because as we all know once you open a bridge and get underneath it sometimes you have more to deal with than you originally planned."

Harbourmaster David Lockwood said they were "still at an early stage".

"We certainly aim to keep on budget, that's our job, and we aim to keep it on time," he said.

An inspection carried out on the bridge in July 2025 found several "major structural issues" that required "urgent attention" on the crossing.

The following month, the council agreed to spend £200,000 on emergency investigation works and brought in a ban on lifting the bridge and weight restrictions.

Thousands of 'love locks', weighing around three tonnes, were also removed from the bridge by the authority.

Brown, a Liberal Democrat councillor, said because it is "planned work rather than emergency work" they hope it will be completed "in the original window".

"Our current priority is to temporarily remove all three spans of Pero's Bridge, and we anticipate starting work on this by the end of September," he said.

"The planned programme of renovation and improvement works, which was already scheduled for the bridge can then begin. The additional repairs required will be completed as part of these works."

He said the council understood that the bridge's closure was an "inconvenience for people" but they were taking the "necessary steps to progress the works needed".

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