Rock face safety checks close Portway for next three Sundays

The Portway is to be closed for the next three Sundays so engineers can carry out safety checks on the rock face.

A section of the road between Cumberland Basin and Sylvan Way in Shirehampton, will be shut on September 27, October 4 and October 11.

The road will be closed between 7am and 5pm on each of these days. Diversions will be in place, taking traffic up Shirehampton Road.

This work takes place annually in the autumn, for the stability of the rocks to be checked on a mile-long stretch of the gorge.

City council structures engineer Phil Lloyd, who has been carrying out the checks for more than 20 years, said: "We used to carry out these checks twice a year, but now we are more on top of things it is just once a year.

"Over the years the rock face has become a lot more stable, but there are always some loose rocks when we check – that's just the nature of it because there is always erosion.

"We have done a lot of work stabilising it with mesh and rock anchors – which are like long bolts – but it still needs checking regularly to make sure no rocks fall onto the ground below.

"I employ a team of rope access specialists who are also geotechnically qualified.

"They abseil down the rock face checking for loose rocks, which they removed and drop onto the road below. We clear it all up later.

"They also remove vegetation growth, because although it sometimes helps to stabilise the rock, it can also cause problems because it breaks it up by growing in cracks."

● Clifton Suspension Bridge is due to be closed tomorrow, for inspections, between 7am and 7pm.

It was closed last Saturday and Sunday, and this will be the final day of checks.

The inspection is not connected to an incident in April this year where a cracked rod was discovered on the bridge – these checks are carried out regularly to see if any maintenance work needs to be done.