WORK to demolish a flood-damaged bridge in Brighouse is to begin next week to make way for a replacement structure.

Crowther Bridge at Elland Road in the town, has been closed to traffic since it was heavily damaged in the Boxing Day floods which hit the district.

It provides access over the Calder and Hebble navigation and due to the damage this area of the canal is currently closed to boats.

Work to demolish the bridge, which is owned by Calderdale Council, will be carried out by the Canal and River Trust, and is due to start on Monday.

During the four-week demolition period, the canal will be emptied to allow the work to take place.

A planning application has been submitted to the council for a new bridge which will incorporate stone from the old structure.

Documents submitted as part of the demolition notification describe how on December 26, the River Calder “overtopped” and flooded the canal.

“The depth and quantity of water flowing down the canal was sufficient enough to wash away the towpath and remove protection form the abutment, which was undermined causing it to subside, fracturing the arch barrel and displacing masonry in the spandrels and wing walls.”

A number of services which ran across the bridge have already been diverted in preparation.

Give the lack of road access from the south side, it will only be possible to work from the Elland Road side of the bridge.

Councillor Barry Collins, the council’s cabinet member for regeneration and economic development, said that Crowther Bridge was one of 24 bridges in Calderdale to be heavily damaged by the floods on Boxing Day.

He said: “The Canal and River Trust is due to start demolishing Crowther Bridge on Monday, May 23, and will then totally rebuild the bridge.

“A planning application has been submitted for a new concrete bridge faced in stone recovered from the old one. The new one will include a separate footway, so the current footbridge will be demolished once the new bridge is open.”

He added that it was hoped the canal would be open again by the end of June and the bridge fully reopened by the end of the year.

The work is part of a joint project by the Canal and River Trust to rebuild nearby Elland Bridge, which was also heavily damaged in the floods. The rebuilding of both bridges together will cost £5.5 million and is being funded by the government.