COULD Hereford soon have three bridges over the River Wye to combat traffic problems?

The city's Mayor Jim Kenyon is bringing forward a motion tomorrow (Friday) to Herefordshire Councillors for an eastern river crossing to be built in addition to the favoured western option.

The bridge, costing £30 million, would act as a fundamental link to go between Ledbury Road in Tupsley and the B4399 at Rotherwas.

Despite the eastern bridge failing to form part of Herefordshire Council’s Core Strategy, Cllr Kenyon wants it to be considered along with a western route via Breinton.

He said: “This bridge would ease traffic in the city and is not instead of the western bypass but as well as.

“The former city Mayor said 50 years ago that within 10 years we would need one or two more bridges.

“So let's not settle for one bridge. Let's get both of them as that’s what we need.

"The national government says that in Hereford we need more housing so if that’s the case we need money for the western bypass and at a local level for the eastern bridge.”

Cllr Kenyon said that a new road leading to the bridge would be built through the middle of the joint housing and rugby development off Hampton Park Road.

The Mayor says that this ‘protected road route’ has always been earmarked for an eastern link and would be built alongside the Hereford Rugby Club development.

He says that the need for two more bridges in the city was proven only last Thursday when Greyfriars Bridge was closed due to safety fears at Asda petrol station.

“An hour after the bridge was re-opened nobody was in the city centre or the shops which cost businesses money,” he added.

“Everytime the city centre is gridlocked people hear about it and simply don’t come.”

Herefordshire Council has given its backing to a western route near Breinton but the smaller city council agreed in January to start a pressure group pushing for an eastern crossing.

Cllr Kenyon’s motion requests that the council’s ‘executive’ support his idea and to bring it forward to the Board of the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) with the view to it being included in the LEP’s funding bids to government.

“We need the eastern bridge to be in Herefordshire Council’s Core Strategy and I think that’s it’s ridiculous that it is not already,” added Cllr Kenyon

“This isn’t a bypass but a bridge to ease congestion and it will act as an alternative for traffic around the city.”