Urgent works have seen a 64-year-old bridge closed and motorists subjected to hours of queues.

But what are the engineers doing to the historic landmark? Joe Crossley reports…

The Kingsferry Bridge is a key route on and off the Isle of Sheppey with road and rail traffic using it, as well as a pedestrian every now and then.

Estimates say that up to 20% of the vehicles heading on and off the Island still use the bridge, which opened in 1960.

This is despite the opening of the Sheppey Crossing in 2006.

The older structure is a lifting bridge, allowing maritime traffic to pass under it. The ropes that make this possible, however, were crumbling.

Network Rail, which maintains it, is replacing 40 steel ropes which were installed 30 years ago. It has closed the route throughout June and July to do so.

The engineers on the bridge, built in the 1950s, say it has been an unusual project. the likes of which they have not had to undertake before.

Simon Holman, who is the project manager, is keeping a watchful eye on the day-to-day running of the works.

The 56-year-old, who has been with the company for 38 years, looks after 16 contractors plus managers who can be on-site at one time, although the work is going on 24 hours a day.

He added: “There have been hitches as we are working on a 64-year-old structure but we have overcome these and the project is going well.

“It has been a unique way of working.”

Three ropes are changed at a time on the four main tower structures, which are 130ft above The Swale.

They detach the ropes from counter-weights underneath the bridge while still being held in place by sockets at the top of the structure.

Much of the contracted team from Bekaret, a steel rope specialist, are from Doncaster and Newcastle and are staying in Sittingbourne while they work on the project.

Matthew Davies is an application specialist from the firm and says the project is a feat in British engineering.

Originally from Milford Haven, in Wales, he now lives in Doncaster and added: “It has been old-fashioned engineering with a lot of manual labour which is hard work.

“I have never worked on something like this before and it has been quite rare that almost all of the materials come from the UK. For example, the ropes themselves are made in Newcastle.”

When I visited the site nine of the ropes that pull the lift mechanism were still to be changed – each of which takes around three hours to replace.

The ropes are then pulled off and replaced with new ones which are set to last between 25 and 30 years.

When the engineers started their work, traffic chaos ensued in Sittingbourne and on Sheppey, particularly during the eight-day closure from Friday, June 28 to Sunday, July 7.

Crashes on the first two days made things worse with school children on buses and motorists delayed for hours.

A taxi firm also reported seeing its booking fall through the floor while one bus operator cancelled some services.

This week, with a 10-day closure in place from Friday, July 19, drivers again have told KentOnline of gridlock at Key Street on Monday (July 22).

Residents have questioned whether the works needed to be done while a lane is closed on the A249 due to the Grovehurst Junction Improvement Scheme.

However, Network Rail director David Davidson explained the degeneration of the steel cables had happened quicker than expected, so replacing them was urgently required.

The original plan had been to conduct the work in two years time.

He said: “If we don’t do the work now the bridge will fail, and if that happens we will have to close the bridge as we won’t be able to lift it for shipping.

“We would have to mobilise a project team, which would be really difficult.

“It would be shut much higher and for much longer and cause a lot more disruption. So it was critical to do the work now.”

Mr Davidson, 40, oversees projects across the Network Rail’s southern region and noted there is not another bridge like it in his patch, so comes with its own challenges.

He added: “It is a very bespoke bridge and there isn’t any bridge like this.

“Normal bridges do not have a lifting mechanism and it’s a challenge in terms of engineering.

“It’s a great piece of British engineering but is a challenge to maintain and operate.

“So we don’t carry common spares for it so everything has to be designed bespoke for the structure.

“There is also a lot of manual work which means the work is very methodical and takes a long time to deliver.

“We are set to finish on Sunday and then we will take a look to see if anything further needs to be done.”

The final closure is set to end at 10pm on Sunday, July 28.