POLICE recovered a lorry that crashed into the railway bridge on Wootton Bassett Road.

UPDATE: The road reopened at 9.30am, though traffic will be delayed while the lorry is moved through to Highworth.

A police spokesman added: "The earlier traffic incident/bridge strike on Wootton Bassett Road is now clear and the road is open again.

"The wreckage of the vehicle involved will be making a slow journey to Highworth moving along Tewkesbury Way > Mead Way > Thamesdown Drive > Purton Road at around 20mph. Drivers are advised that this will slow traffic along this route."

Original story: The force closed the busy route which connects Mannington Roundabout to the town centre and advised drivers to find another way around while officers dealt with the aftermath of the accident.

The lorry driver had misjudged either the height of the bridge or its own lorry load and struck the top of the structure in the early hours of Friday morning.

A recovery vehicle, police car and police van are were parked on the road near DFS and managed to free the lorry by 9am.

Police tape cordoned off part of the road on either side of the bridge, though pedestrians and cyclists could still pass under it.

Drivers were directed away from the scene near the traffic lights by Dick Lovett and the Mannington Retail Park.

A police spokesman said: “Clearly, this is likely to cause significant disruption to morning travel in and out of Swindon town center. 

“Drivers are advised to seek an alternative route. Recovery efforts are in progress and may take several hours.

"The heavy impact was determined to have primarily been absorbed by the metal buffers and the bridge itself deemed safe for rail traffic."

This is what the scene looks like at the moment.

 


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