Network Rail has finished replacing the 123-year-old bridge's central bearing ahead of its mid-September target. Only 30 boats got through all summer.

Larger boats can get through Reedham again. Network Rail has finished replacing the central bearing on the 123-year-old swing bridge over the River Yare, and it finished ahead of the date it had set itself.

The work was expected to run to mid-September. The new bearing went in over the August bank holiday weekend, and testing and commissioning were completed early enough to bring the bridge back into use before that (Network Rail, 2 September 2026).

That closes out a summer in which one of the two ways for a tall boat to move between the northern and southern Broads was effectively shut. We reported on the fault and the repair programme when it was announced in our earlier piece on the Reedham repairs.

What was wrong, and what was done

The bearing forms part of the bridge’s main pivot and helps carry the structure as it opens and closes. A mechanical fault in it meant the bridge could not be swung reliably.

Fixing it meant removing the old bearing and fitting a new one, across several weeks of engineering. The railway itself closed for only two weekends, 8 and 9 August and 29 and 30 August, with buses replacing trains between Norwich and Lowestoft on both.

Thirty boats all summer

The number that shows what this cost Broads boat owners is a small one.

While the bridge was out of action, Network Rail and the Broads Authority arranged three swings, at the end of July and the start of August. Around 30 boats passed through in total. Each of those swings depended on engineers testing first that the bridge could be moved on a limited basis without doing further damage.

Smaller boats could pass underneath the fixed span throughout, which is how most Broads craft use Reedham in any case.

Joe Kennedy, Infrastructure Director for Network Rail Anglia, said: “This was a major, complex repair of a bridge that is both a critical piece of infrastructure and an important heritage landmark for the region. Our teams worked hard to get Reedham swinging again, but we’re so sorry for the disruption to boat users, passengers and neighbours while we got the job done.”

Rob Rogers, Director of Delivery for the Broads Authority, said the authority was “pleased to learn that the repair of the bridge has been successfully completed ahead of schedule”, called the inconvenience to owners of larger boats “regrettable”, and thanked those affected for their patience.

Two things to expect now

Network Rail attached two caveats to the announcement, and both matter if you are planning a passage.

  • Reliability may wobble at first. Operators will monitor the bridge closely as it starts swinging regularly again. Network Rail says heritage swing bridges can have smaller reliability problems for a time after a long spell out of action.
  • Hot weather restrictions apply as normal. The bridge cannot be swung when temperatures get too high, because its main structures and rails expand in the heat. That is a standing rule, not a consequence of the repair.

What it means for you

If you own a boat that needs the bridge to open, Reedham is available again and you should book passage through the Broads Authority in the usual way rather than assuming availability on the day, particularly in warm weather.

If you travel by train, nothing changes. The Wherry line through Brundall, Brundall Gardens, Lingwood, Acle, Buckenham, Cantley and Reedham is running normally, and Greater Anglia’s September alterations list carries no closure on it. The one thing that does affect Broadland travellers this month is on the main line: buses replace trains between Norwich and Stowmarket on 12 and 13 September, and again on 19 and 20 September. We keep that and every current road closure updated on our Broadland roadworks and travel page.

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