Motorists face another bout of delays and disruption on York's Inner Ring Road when a SECOND bridge undergoes repairs.

Engineers say the busy Queen Street bridge, between Micklegate Bar and the railway station, may need to be completely closed for up to 48 hours to replace the road deck.

And there could be lane closures for eight weeks during repairs to pavements and parapets.

But another, more expensive, option, costing around £350,000, would involve strengthening the bridge structure underneath without disruption to traffic overhead.

Railtrack and City of York Council, who own different sections of the bridge, are due to meet on Wednesday to discuss which option to pursue, and how much of the bill will be footed by each party.

The repairs are set to take place early next year, less than a year after the completion of a major project to rebuild Layerthorpe Bridge, which caused more than 20 months of delays for motorists.

Taxi drivers today expressed alarm at the prospect of losing the use of Queen Street bridge.

Steven Martin, of Station Taxis, said: "It will really foul things up. I do not know how we will get round it. Virtually every taxi driver in York uses that bridge at least once a day. It was bad enough when Layerthorpe Bridge was closed. The delays and cost will be terrible for people coming from Tadcaster Road and Acomb way."

But Bill Woolley, the council's assistant director environment and development services, stressed: "Queen Street is not in the same league as Layerthorpe Bridge." He said the bridge had been regularly monitored since structural weaknesses were discovered almost two years ago and there had been no danger to the public.

He said that as well as repairs, work was needed to make the bridge capable of carrying lorries weighing up to 40 tons, as required under EU legislation. The council would be responsible for this element of the cost, he added.

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