17/06/2026
🚗✅UPDATE 10.15am:
Nether Bridge has now RE-OPENED to traffic, following the overnight accident that caused extensive damage.
Out of hours staff from the council’s highways teams took emergency measures to make the area safe following the incident and bridge engineers have carried out detailed safety inspections first thing this morning.
Further safety measures and barriers have been installed and, while the footway remains closed, the bridge has now been able to re-open to vehicles (NOTE - the image attached shows the emergency barriers that were put in overnight while the bridge was closed. More robust barriers are now in place on the closed footway now that the bridge has re-opened to traffic)
Nether Bridge is a Scheduled Ancient Monument spanning the River Kent, which has both Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation environmental designations.
The next stage of works will be to recover what we can of the heritage stonework that has been knocked into the river in the accident, so that this can be reused in the repair where possible.
This will require the necessary Habitat Regulations Assessment surveys and reports and permissions from Natural England before the specialist underwater contractor can go into the river.
It is too early at this stage to say when a permanent repair will be undertaken, however this will inevitably be a number of months as it will require specialist heritage work and possibly permissions arranging to gain access from the river.
UPDATE: 11.24am
We have closed comments on this post as the incident is subject to an active police investigation.
ORIGINAL POST:
Motorists are advised that Nether Bridge in is CLOSED to all vehicles this morning following a road accident overnight that has caused significant damage to the bridge.
Please allow extra time for your journey.
