Highways and Environment

Environment House
PO Box 42
Lombard Street
West Bromwich
B70 8RU

Tel: 0121 569 4197
Fax: 0121 569 4280
Email: highways@sandwell.gov.uk
Opening Hours: Monday - Thursday 8.30am - 5.30pm, Friday 8.30am - 5.00pm

Bridge Structures and Retaining Walls

There are 264 bridges supporting roads and footpaths in Sandwell of which:

• 172 are owned by Sandwell Council.
• 31 are owned by Network Rail.
• 1 is owned by British Rail Property Board. BRB (Residuary) Ltd.
• 29 are motorway bridges owned by the Highways Agency in addition to the elevated sections of the M5 and M6 motorways. These structures are maintained on their behalf by Amey Mouchel.
• 31 are owned by British Waterways.

There are a significant number of other bridges which carry railway lines, canals or the Midland Metro which are owned by Network Rail, British Waterways and Centro respectively.

For further information on structures owned by other organisations or to report problems with their structures you can contact the organisation direct by using the external links on the right hand side of this page.

Bridges are best identified by the name of the road which they are located on and the obstruction they cross(e.g. the River Tame or the Walsall Canal). We have a complete listing of bridges in Sandwell for you to check the location.

Calculations are carried out to determine the load carryng capacity of bridges and when they are found to be weak, strengthening works are carried out.

In addition, routine maintenance of structures is carried out, such as painting, graffiti removal, fencing repair etc. You can view the listing of bridges where work is to be carried out in 2007/08 and if you wish to report a problem with a structure you can use our online reporting form.

In addition to the bridge stock, Sandwell Council is responsible for a large number of retaining walls which either support the highway or the land on the highway boundary. Because retaining walls are usually on the highway boundary, ownership is often uncertain and many retaining walls in the Borough are not in the Council's records.

For further information please telephone us on 0121 569 4162 or email us at highways@sandwell.gov.uk

Additional details of work on bridges to be carried out is contained in the www.westmidlandsltp.gov.uk/2006/ and its Annual Progress Report (APR). Comments on those details, the LTP or the APR are welcomed and may be made by contacting www.westmidlandsltp.gov.uk