A HEREFORDSHIRE bridge will not be getting traffic lights despite "strong concerns" over safety.

Pixley and District councillors had previously voiced their "strong concerns" over the current state of Ashperton railway bridge and the speed and volume of traffic, minutes revealed.

Network Rail and Balfour Beatty Living Places representatives had visited the bridge with councillors, with the minutes revealing that they had "agreed that there was very little barrier material between the road surface and the steep drop to the railway line".

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Councillors said they "strongly" recommended that a vehicle restraint system was put in place, and called for traffic calming measures such as traffic lights.

The bridge, which is inspected by National Rail every 12 months, had received a score of 86 under the rail network operator's rating system with a mitigation action plan put in place if the total score is 90 or more.

The score meant no action was taken, the minutes said.

In an update, newly published minutes from the council's September meeting said Herefordshire Council had said crash barriers and traffic calming measures "were not a viable option", with cost, engineering deliverability, and lack of statistics indicating accidents at the site cited.

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But, councillors were told, the road is due to be resurfaced which "created an opportunity for some improvements".

These would include improved warning signs, specialist antiskid surfacing, and kerbing to rebuild a section of verge damaged by a lorry leaving the carriageway earlier this year.

Councillors also suggested that the speed limit could be reduced and that railings similar to those newly installed on Stoke Edith railway bridge could be put in place.

It was resolved for the clerk to respond to Herefordshire Council to accept its suggestions and enquire about altering the speed limit.