Bailey Bridge (Walton on Trent)

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The Bailey Bridge (Walton Bridge) is a single-lane steel Bailey bridge carrying Station Lane over the River Trent at Walton-on-Trent, on the Derbyshire–Staffordshire border. It is owned by Derbyshire County Council. The bridge is 6.45 metres wide, has two spans totaling 85.4 metres, and sits on brick abutments with a central steel pier. A separate steel footpath runs on the north side. Traffic is controlled by signals at both ends, so only one direction uses the bridge at a time. The current load limit is 3 tonnes gross vehicle weight, and the speed limit is 15 mph.

History and context:
- The first crossing at this site was built in 1834 after the 1833 Walton-upon-Trent Bridge Act, funded by a toll company. Tolls ended in 1900 and the toll house was later removed.
- The 1834 bridge was damaged by floods in 1947. The Royal Engineers built a temporary Bailey bridge on top of the old structure the same year.
- In 1974, a newer Bailey bridge was installed, still described as temporary but serving for many years.
- Today, there are frequent complaints about weight-limit breaches and people turning around in driveways. There have been calls for enforcement cameras, and a bypass plan has been discussed since 2012. The 2012 proposal would include a new two-way river crossing; if built, the existing bridge would be limited to pedestrians.
- A bypass project was revived in 2018 with an estimated budget of about £12 million. Work on a replacement bridge began in March 2025 by the Vistry Group, with an extension granted to August 2026 to complete the project.