UK's first heathland green bridge opens next month

The UK's first heathland green bridge is due to open in Surrey next month to help snakes, toads and badgers cross the busy A3, National Highways says.

The £3.7m Cockrow Bridge spans the A3 near Cobham and reconnects two rare heathland areas.

The 68-metre-long (223ft) bridge, funded by National Highways, is covered in heather and aims to offer a safe crossing for wildlife and people between Ockham Common and Wisley Common.

Steve Elderkin, director of environmental sustainability at National Highways, said: "While roads have always connected people and places, they are too often a barrier for nature, severing habitats and contributing to the decline in biodiversity."

He said: "Our green bridges are designed to blend with the landscape and connect habitats, animals and people, leaving a lasting legacy which ensures nature thrives."

The company hopes the bridge will help wildlife on the commons to flourish.

The green bridge, which is 30m (98ft) wide, also includes a path for pedestrians, horse riders and cyclists.

It is the first of its kind in the UK to support lowland heathland habitats, one of the country's rarest habitat types, says National Highways.

It replaces a pedestrian bridge, built in the 1980s, and provided no connectivity for wildlife in the two separate heathland plots, which have been divided since the 1970s when the A3 was built.

Initiated in France in the 1950s and pioneered in the Netherlands in 1990, green bridges are now becoming an important part of the sustainability of infrastructure projects.

There are already several green, wildlife-friendly bridges in the UK, including over the A556 near Chester, the A30 in Cornwall, and the A21 at Scotney Castle in Kent.

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