National Highways is advising drivers to plan their journeys ahead of this weekend’s M5 closure to carry out the demolition of two bridges near Gloucester.
The Grove Court and Uphill Court bridges, between junctions 11 and 12 of the M5, have served as pedestrian footpaths for the past 64 years but have deteriorated beyond repair and are now in need of replacing.
The bridges have been closed for safety reasons since March and both structures will be demolished this weekend, with new, modern standard bridges being constructed in their place in the future.
To enable the demolition work, the M5 will be fully closed between junction 11 (Cheltenham) and junction 12 (Gloucester) from 11pm on Friday (16 October) until 6am on Monday (19 October). 
The two bridges, both 69 metres in length, will be dismantled by high-reach excavators over the weekend, with 440 tonnes of concrete and 14 tonnes of steel tendons removed from the carriageway before the road reopens for Monday morning commuter traffic.
Terry Robinson, South West Engineering Lead for National Highways, said: “Like many of our motorways and structures, the bridges have exceeded their structural lifespan, and replacing them will ensure the safety of road users and keep people and goods moving safely.
“We’ve communicated the closure to local communities and businesses, but we appreciate the weekend closure will still have impacts for the travelling public.
“We thank people for their patience and in the meantime, our advice to drivers is to plan ahead, consider alternative routes and allow extra time for their journeys.”
The weekend diversion routes have been carefully planned to lessen conflict with the A40 bridge works at Over, and a later Friday closure of 11pm has been arranged to allow for Gloucester Rugby’s European Champions Cup match with Bordeaux-Begles.
Over the weekend, southbound and northbound traffic will be diverted via the A38 through Gloucester, the A40 Cheltenham to Gloucester Road and the A417, as per the diagram below.
Further scheme information and diversion route details can be found on the scheme web page and over the weekend, people can gain up-to-the-minute updates on National Highways’ travel alerts web page.
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