The bridges and structures on the highways across Milton Keynes are inspected, maintained and repaired by the council. Highways structures includes over 300 underpasses, over 300 porte cocheres - the iconic covered walkways in CMK and retaining walls.
We look after over 763 bridges across Milton Keynes from small footbridges connecting redway links over streams and brooks, to the large concrete and suspension bridges carrying traffic on dual carriageways. The bridge over the V6 Grafton Street near Bradwell is also an aquaduct for the Grand Union Canal.
Historical bridges
There are two bridges within the MK Borough that have historical significance and are listed as Grade I Ancient Scheduled Monuments. This means that any repairs or maintenance must be planned, approved and regularly inspected by Historic England and other bodies. Specific materials, techniques and even exact paint colours must be used with these bridges which means using specialist engineers and equipment.
The two bridges are:
Tickford Bridge, Newport Pagnell which was built in 1810 and is one of the last cast iron bridges in Britain in use today that carries traffic the 17 metres over the River Ouzel in Newport Pagnell.
Tyringham Bridge was designed and built in 1793 by Sir John Soane who designed the nearby Tyringham House.
Porte Cocheres
There are over 300 porte cocheres in CMK which are part of the original Milton Keynes city centre design. We regularly inspect all these structures to check for any defects. Porte cocheres means 'coach gateway' and these provide a covered walkway for pedestrians who are moving around the city centre. All porte cocheres are painted black.
To find out more about porte cocheres in MK, watch our short video on our YouTube channel.
Underpasses
There are over 300 underpasses across MK, connecting the residential and industrial area through the redway network. Underpasses allow pedestrians and cyclists to safely cross a grid road. If you need to report an issue with an underpass such as lights out or graffiti, please use the Report it form or call 01908 252353.