Bus passengers face permanent delays at East Croydon station if a borough-wide bridge safety assessment pinpoints the rail bridge as a danger spot.

As part of an ongoing structural survey of the country's "road over rail" bridges, Railtrack has suggested the George Street bridge may be too weak to cope with modern traffic, which could mean buses will be limited to just one lane at a time near to one of the busiest bus interchanges in the borough.

Croydon Council is awaiting more in-depth reports on the bridge's condition but Chris Martin, assistant director of highways and traffic, said it is one of many similar old structures which may be subjected to safety-conscious weight restrictions.

Croydon GLA representative and Tory councillor Andrew Pelling claimed that this situation could have been avoided if engineers had listened to pleas to extend the strengthening work done when Tramlink was constructed.

Coun Pelling said weight restrictions are an option, but added: "This doesn't fill you with confidence.

"Putting that much weight on the bridge is very worrying it should have been dealt with when the tram was being built. I said at the time that the bridge was weak and the work needed to be done it was a disgrace."

Mr Martin said there is no immediate danger of the bridge collapsing but that strengthening work the responsibility of Railtrack could be necessary.

Mr Martin said: "We do take safety on our bridges very seriously.

"A system of alternating traffic lights allowing one-way traffic on to the bridge might be needed, but the existing bus-only restriction excluding heavy lorries from the bridge could be sufficient."

If the decision is made to strengthen the bridge, Railtrack would be responsible to a point but further work would be funded by Transport for London via bids from boroughs.

October 23, 2001 17:00