Can We Fix It?

Probably not. After Storm Desmond in 2015, Stramongate Bridge (which has stood since Victorian times) was suddenly deemed to be unsafe due to the flood waters scouring the river bed around the supporting pillars.
Since then, there have been various half hearted attempts to fix the problem. The three things all these attempts have in common is that they have been done on the cheap and usually carried out whilst the river is in full spate, thus they have all failed. Though not without causing intense traffic disruption whilst they were being carried out. We even made the lead item on Radio 2’s traffic reports for a few days one week!
We are now underway with what is promised to be the definitive solution. Why they could not have done this in the first place, is not explained. Still, it’s only six years after the event, and the river is actually at very low levels for a change.
I’m not exactly sure what’s going on but there are a couple of tracked vehicles moving around under the bridge. One is digging up the river bed and then depositing it into the one in the picture. Which then tips it into the cordoned off area of the river on the left of the picture. Presumably this is a holding area until the bridge supports are repaired and then the material can be returned to the river bed. Or disposed off elsewhere. I don’t know - I have no idea what is going on and am only grateful that the bridge is still open to traffic! And, like most people, I originally assumed that this work was something to do with the much vaunted flood defences. But that seems to just consist of random walls being built in random places along the river at the moment. I’m sure all will become clear in due course, though I can’t help but point out again that the risk of flooding looks pretty remote at the moment, judging by the current river levels.