Six weeks of road closures and delays are expected from an inspection on Nicholas Street Viaduct this month.

Planned bridge inspections on Nicholas Street Viaduct, Chester, will start on 21 September.

Carrying the A5268 inner ring road in Chester over side roads, the canal and the main Holyhead railway, the 300m long viaduct extends from the City Walls at St Martins Gate, to the Fountains roundabout at the north end of Upper Northgate Street.

As a post-tensioned bridge, it requires special inspections to check the condition of its structure.

This inspection will involve breaking out small areas of concrete to allow its steel tendons to be viewed and inspected.

Therefore, a contraflow will be required to close off each side of the viaduct.

Two-way traffic will be maintained, but there will be delays in the area.

The programmed dates for these contraflow works on the inner ring road are from 21 September 2025 until 31 October 2025.

The council is anticipating this section will take approximately six weeks in total to complete.

City Walls Road will also need to be closed at its junction with St Martin's Way, with access to properties and emergency vehicles being maintained from Watergate Street.

Alongside the inspection works, the bridge's carriageway joints will need to be replaced. In addition, the drainage gullies over the structure will be jetted to ensure that they are functioning properly.

There will be a further inspection underneath the bridge.

Over the coming months, the underside of the structure will be inspected - requiring short closures of side roads such as Canal Street, Garden Lane, access to the council-owned car park on Garden Lane and private land.