STORY BOARDS and TV displays have gone up in Tadcaster to make sure people know how repairs on the town's stricken bridge are progressing.

Bosses from North Yorkshire County Council’s area highways team say they are taking extra steps to make it easy for residents to stay up to date with progress on the repairs.

At the moment, the council is looking for a local source for the stone they will use to rebuild the 18th century bridge, and geo-technical surveys have been completed and are now being studied to find out why the bridge partially collapsed and to ensure that it does not happen again.

County Cllr Don Mackenzie, North Yorkshire’s executive member for highways, told people in Tadcaster that even if they cannot see a lot going on at the bridge, work is going on.

He said: “We understand that the residents and business people of Tadcaster are keen to know how work on the reconstruction is progressing towards re-establishing the town’s road bridge.

“The repairs are a priority for us, and while there is little activity to see on site at present, work is well under way to put in place the measures necessary for the physical repairs to begin."

An on-going story board is going up on along the hoarding at the repair site. The panel already in place shows the work that has been carried out to date since the collapse of the bridge and as work progresses, panels will be added regularly to depict the project as it advances.

In addition, The Inkshop in Bridge Street has agreed to display a television in its window which will show a series of web pages with details of the work to date and the latest updates.

Cllr Mackenzie added: “We hope the steps we are putting in place to make the latest information readily available will reassure people that the project is progressing well and is on course to be completed before the end of this year.”

In a further attempt to make sure locals are kept up to date on the repairs, someone from the council's area highways team will work from an office on the bridge works site on the east side of the river several times a week, and will be there to answer questions about the reconstruction from members of the public.

The officer will be on site on Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 1pm and 3pm, starting after the Bank Holiday Monday, May 2.