Derby Street Railway Bridge, Ormskirk is over 170 years old.

Following inspections the structure was found to be crumbling internally, Lancashire County Council (LCC) decided to place a temporary order of 18 tonne limit on the bridge while it considered all the options, as it has listed building status.

The bridge also has limited pedestrian footway access to and from the railway station, with many reports of pedestrians being clipped by wing mirrors and near misses, and along with the Stanley Street junction it's been the scene of numerous accidents.

County Councillor Nikki Hennessy told QLocal this morning: "I have been asking for a long time that LCC give greater priority to pedestrians so they can walk safely over the bridge and cross the road.

At a recent update from LCC Highways Officers it was confirmed that a report had been produced by Jacobs which stated that the bridge could be repaired with a resin infusion, at a cost of £1 million.

In answer to my questions I was told the repairs would take less than six months and disruption would be minimal, the repairs should last 60 years and that the weight restriction would be lifted to allow up to 44 ton vehicles to cross the bridge."

"The bridge would be made into a single line of traffic and the pedestrian walk ways would be increased. I made my objections quite clear that putting the traffic across the bridge down to one lane would further back up the Traffic around the town centre system."

The long awaited traffic survey is now being undertaken and it is the intention of LCC to have a trial run of a single lane traffic to go across the bridge to monitor the effect this would have - the trail could take place in August, which just happens to be when traffic is at its lowest due to holidays.

Added Hennessy: "The alternative to LCC proposals, would be a new bridge, which would maintain two lanes with built in safe footpaths and crossing points to the railway station. It would also be constructed of rustic steel and constructed on site within the same time frame as the resin infusion.It would cost more but I envisage that the alternative of a single lane across the bridge would see air pollution increase due to standing traffic all the way down Southport Road.

"The Conservative administration is trying to do it on the cheap.

"Single lane traffic over the bridge would create more problems than it solves, causing traffic chaos across Ormskirk. However it's important that local people have their say in what could happen and I will be providing as much information to people as possible and ensure their voices are heard at County Hall."