Cumbria County Council is reminding residents and visitors that Gooseholme Bridge in Kendal will officially open on Friday 14 October.

The community will have their first opportunity to set foot on the new structure, in Kendal, from noon onwards, following the official opening ceremony which starts at 11am.

Cumbria County Council, working with contractor Story Contracting Ltd and in partnership with an extensive specialised project team, oversaw the installation of the 55-tonne structure in July, the bridge spans 42-metres across the river Kent.

The £2 million project to construct this replacement footbridge was delivered by Cumbria County Council with funding partners: the Environment Agency, South Lakeland District Council, and Sustrans.

The new Gooseholme bridge creates a fully accessible traffic-free link to Kendal town centre. It also repairs an important link for National Cycle Route 6 between Lancaster and Carlisle.

Sustrans is leading a £77m England-wide programme, supported by the Department for Transport, to enhance the National Cycle Network. The programme is delivering over 150 transformative projects which improve over 300km of the Network, to make walking and cycling safer and more accessible for everyone.

Cllr Keith Little, Cumbria County Council Cabinet member for Highways and Transport, said:

“I am really looking forward to the official opening of Gooseholme Bridge this Friday. The bridge opening will be a significant milestone in reconnecting the local community with parts of Kendal and the park, it is an impressive new bridge structure which will last for many years to come.

“This single span bridge that will be fully accessible to all bridge users, providing shared access for pedestrians, cyclists, and wheelchair users.

“I would like to thank the Kendal community for their patience and support for this project, funding partners: the Environment Agency, South Lakeland District Council, and Sustrans, and also the team behind this work – Story Contracting, Adey and our project team at the county council.

“I hope that the community can join us on Friday for the opening and be one of the first to cross over the bridge.”