A bridge is a structure carrying the highway over a river, canal, railway, motorway, etc, or carrying a railway, motorway, etc over the highway.
Other highway structures can include:
- Culverts
- Chambers or subways under or over the highway with a composite span of 1 metre or more
- Retaining walls supporting or adjacent to the highway, where the height of retained fill (measured between the upper and lower ground level) is 1.37 metres (4’6”) or more
- Earth embankments 1.37 metres or more in height where the gradient of the slope is greater than the natural angle of repose of the fill material
- Structural elements of sign and signal gantries
There are approximately 1000 highway bridges and structures in Bolton. Of these approximately 370 are owned and maintained by the Council as Highway Authority. The remainder are either in private ownership (e.g. Network Rail) or are maintained by other Departments of the Council (e.g. Corporate Property Services and Education and Culture).
The Highways and Engineering division's Structures Team manages, inspects and maintains all bridges and highway structures owned by the Council as Highway Authority. The team also undertake inspections of all other highway bridges and structures in Bolton in order to safeguard public safety.