The Great Musgrave bridge near Warcop, Cumbria, was infilled by the government’s highway agency in July 2021 amid fears it might collapse.
The agency poured thousands of tons of concrete under the 161-year-old bridge, which cost them a whopping £124,000.
But opponents said the work was taken “without justification” and the filling in would stop the bridge being used by walkers and cyclists.
It was one of dozens of bridges which campaigners said were infilled or demolished despite their heritage value, and potential use for future railways and greenways.
More than 800 people objected and Eden District Council issued an enforcement notice in September last year after refusing retrospective planning permission.
Work began to remove the concrete in July and the archway has now been restored to its former glory. It is set to open by 6pm today (Friday).
Graeme Bickerdike, of the HRE Group, which campaigns for the retention of the historical railway estate, said the restoration is a ‘breath-taking turnaround.’
He said: “It’s a breath-taking turnaround by National Highways.
“For the past two years, they’ve told anyone who’ll listen that the bridge was weak and infilling was necessary for safety reasons.
“But this contradicted all the available engineering evidence.The new theoretical capacity assessment changes nothing in practical terms.”
“They knew that the bridge was fine – or, at least, they should have – on the basis of inspection insight.” National Highways, then known as Highways England, said in 2021 that it infilled the structure for “safety reasons”.
Politicians even weighed into the row after pictures of the infilled bridge first circulated. In a House of Lords debate, Labour life peer Richard Faulkner accused Highways England of “cultural vandalism”.
Mr Bickerdike said: “It’s been a costly shambles from start to finish and the taxpayer has a right to understand the circumstances.
“The bridge’s return to its rightful place as a historic landscape asset is welcome, but the fact that no strengthening was needed completely undermines National Highways.”
Hélène Rossiter, head of historical railways estate at National Highways said the agency removed the infill after recognising the ‘strength of feeling’ about the bridge.
She said: “We believe that infill was a valid solution at Great Musgrave from a safety and ongoing maintenance perspective, but we recognise the strength of feeling about these works, and have removed the infill and refurbished the bridge.
“We are proud to manage around 3,100 historical railway structures and infill is just one approach we have considered for a handful of locations.”
“We worked to a careful methodology, removing the infill sensitively to conserve Great Musgrave Bridge. Our decisions at the bridge were driven by safety, something we’re passionate about as an organisation.”
Last week, Highways England were ordered to restore a second railway bridge to its original condition after filling its arch with hundreds of tonnes of concrete.
The 100-year-old Congham Bridge in Norfolk was filled by England’s national road agency in 2021 during work it said was needed to make the crossing safe.
But it sparked outrage among locals now West Norfolk Council ruled the agency should reverse the filling of the historic bridge, which was built in 1923.
