THE M48 Severn Bridge will be closed this weekend for safety checks, with planned closures set to be lifted weeks early.

Lane closures have been taking place on the bridge since March as part of seven months of traffic management while Highways England ensure the safety of the cables.

But inspectors have now said that the scheduled closures are due to be lifted weeks ahead of schedule, with work progressing well.

The bridge will be fully closed this weekend, from 6am on Saturday, until 10pm on Sunday, to enable contractors to move an inspection gantry from the downstream side to the upstream side.

The westbound lane closures, which were due to be removed in early September, are now planned to be lifted by early August.

Highways England project manager Chris Pope said: “The cable inspection work is progressing well, and that’s good news.

“The inspections are vital to allow us to understand the current corrosion levels of the suspension cables, and the work so far has shown that the measures we implemented over the last 10 years have been effective in ensuring the long-term viability of the bridge and the safety of its users.

“Diversion routes will be in place during the weekend closure, using the M4 Second Severn Crossing, and we are not envisaging a major impact on our road users.

“We have been working with Severn River Crossing Plc, and all weekend closures have been planned to avoid any major events on both sides of the bridge.

“We understand this work has caused some inconvenience and disruption but we are making every effort to ensure the impact on drivers is kept to a minimum. We have recently changed our traffic management to ease the situation and have also brought in some extra resources to speed up the work.”

During the period of lane closures, vehicles over 2.9 metres wide are prohibited from using the M48 Severn Bridge. A final weekend closure will take place later in the year for the removal of the upstream inspection gantry.

For more information, visit www.highways.gov.uk/traffic or contact the Highways England Customer Contact Centre on 0300 123 5000.