Repairs are being planned for a motorway bridge over the river Severn after a resident flagged concerns about a failing joint to the local MP.

West Worcestershire MP Dame Harriett Baldwin passed on the concerns to National Highways chiefs and the organisation has confirmed that repairs are being planned after investigations revealed that part of the structure is staring to fail.

The M50 bridge over the river Severn at Uckinghall will be repaired next month. Bridges along the M50 have faced many years of structural work and road closures while the concrete structures were surveyed and repaired.

The motorway was opened in 1962 and older structures were surveyed and assessed following the collapse of the Ponte Morandi bridge in Genoa in 2018. Public buildings have also had to have urgent repairs after the decline of aerated concrete which has been used in construction projects since the 1950s.

Dame Harriett said:

“A constituent contacted me sharing concerns about the bridge structure after experiencing excessive noise and evidence of structural decline.

“I immediately flagged this to National Highways and assessments are already underway with a plan to fix the declining structure.

“The M50 is an old motorway and it has seen a long run of repairs in recent years but I know drivers and local people will be reassured to know that these sorts of issues are assessed and mitigated swiftly.”