National Highways has announced that its updgrade on the A30 between Chiverton and Carland Cross in Cornwall will feature the company’s seventh green bridge.

Formed with two decks and planted extensively with plants and hedging, National Highways says the green bridge over the new dual carriageway at Marazanvose will maintain and enhance connectivity for habitats separated by the new road, providing a flourishing green border and providing a safe passage across the road for badgers, voles and other small animals, insects and birds.

It explains that the bridge will not only provide better connectivity for wildlife but will also include a footpath and a bridleway for horse riders.

Pioneered in the Netherlands, the Terlet overpass was the first wildlife crossing constructed near Arnhem in 1990. Planted with trees, within six years three species of deer were recorded using it, along with wild boar, red foxes, badgers, wood mice, and common shrew and common vole species.

Green bridges are now becoming an important part of the sustainability of infrastructure projects, by:

• creating a safe crossing point for wildlife movement;
• joining up habitats and connecting colonies, as they are also used by wildlife as a home in their own right;
• creating a crossing point for people and benefitting pollinators;
• integrating roads and railways into the surrounding landscape.

Neil Winter, National Highways Senior Project Manager for the A30 Chiverton to Carland Cross scheme, said: “We are really proud of the environmental work being carried out as part of this project, and the creation of the green bridge is a leading part of that.

“The company’s first green bridge was built over the A556 in Cheshire, our green bridge will be one of only seven across the country and once completed, will provide a safe crossing for various species of wildlife.

“We are currently aligning the new carriageway and the bridge will then be installed over the road and once planting has taken place, we look forward to seeing the bridge bloom for many years to come and provide a real legacy for the scheme.”

The south section of the bridge has already been constructed, and the weekend work will see the new A30 realigned for traffic to travel underneath allowing for construction of the north section over the existing road.

To enable the road alignment around the green bridge location, the A30 will be closed over the weekend of 15-18 September between Scorrier and Boxheater.

(Picture – National Highways)