Transport Act 1968

117 Duty F1 ... as respects bridges carrying highways. E+W

(1) This section applies to any bridge which—

(a) carries a highway over one or more of the following that is to say, a railway of the Railways Board, a railway of [F2 Transport for London] , an inland waterway of the Waterways Board or any other installation or land used by any of those Boards in connection with a railway or inland waterway; and

(b) belongs to the Board or Boards whose railway, waterway, installation or land is crossed by the bridge.

[F3 (1A) This section also applies to a bridge (whenever constructed) which—

(a) carries a highway over—

(i) a railway comprised in a transferred network or a new network of a network owner, or

(ii) any other installation or land used by a network owner in connection with a railway or network comprised in a transferred network or a new network of that network owner, and

(b) belongs to the network owner whose railway, installation or land is crossed by the bridge,

and in relation to any such bridge references in this section to each of the Boards or a Board are, subject to subsection (1B) of this section, to be read as references to the network owner.

F3 (1B) Subsection (7) applies in relation to a bridge constructed by or belonging to a network owner and one or more of the Boards mentioned in subsection (1) of this section as it applies in relation to a bridge constructed by or belonging to any two or more Boards.]

[F4 (1C) This section also applies to a bridge (whenever constructed) which —

(a) carries a highway over an inland waterway of Canal & River Trust or any other installation or land used by Canal & River Trust in connection with an inland waterway, and

(b) belongs to Canal & River Trust,

and in relation to any such bridge references in this section to each of the Boards or a Board are, subject to subsection (1D), to be read as references to Canal & River Trust.

(1D) Subsection (7) applies in relation to a bridge constructed by or belonging to—

(a) Canal & River Trust and one or more of the Boards mentioned in subsection (1) of this section;

(b) Canal & River Trust and a network owner; or

(c) Canal & River Trust, one or more of the Boards mentioned in subsection (1) of this section and a network owner,

as it applies in relation to a bridge constructed by or belonging to any two or more Boards.] 

[F5 (1E) This section also applies to a bridge (whenever constructed) which—

(a) carries a highway over a railway of the Secretary of State, or any other installation or land used by the Secretary of State in connection with a railway, and

(b) belongs to the Secretary of State;

and in relation to any such bridge references in this section to each of the Boards or a Board are, subject to subsection (1F), to be read as references to the Secretary of State.

(1F) Subsection (7) applies in relation to a bridge constructed by or belonging to—

(a) the Secretary of State and one or more of the Boards mentioned in subsection (1) of this section;

(b) the Secretary of State and a network owner;

(c) the Secretary of State and Canal & River Trust; or

(d) the Secretary of State and one or more of the Boards mentioned in subsection (1) of this section, a network owner and Canal & River Trust;

as it applies in relation to a bridge constructed by or belonging to any two or more Boards.]

(2) It shall be the duty of each of the Boards mentioned in subsection (1) of this section—

(a) in constructing a bridge which, on completion, will belong to the Board and be a bridge to which this section applies, or in reconstructing a bridge which belongs to the Board and to which this section applies, to secure that it has the required load-bearing capacity;

(b) to maintain and, if necessary, to improve or strengthen any bridge which belongs to the Board and to which this section applies so that it has the required load-bearing capacity, and, if at any time it is not reasonably practicable to secure that it has that capacity by means of maintenance, improvement or strengthening, to reconstruct the bridge or to replace it by a new bridge.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2) of this section a bridge has the required load-bearing capacity—

(a) in the case of a bridge in relation to which load-bearing standards are prescribed by an order made by the appropriate Minister, if it complies with those standards; and

(b) in the case of any other bridge, if it is such as to be capable of bearing the weight of the traffic which ordinarily uses, or may reasonably be expected to use, the highway carried by the bridge on or about the day on which this section comes into force in relation to bridges of the Board concerned or, if the bridge is constructed subsequently, when it is opened for traffic.

(4) An order made for the purposes of subsection (3)(a) of this section—

(a) may prescribe standards for a particular bridge or for any class or description of bridges;

(b) may, in prescribing standards for a particular bridge or for any class or description of bridges, at the same time prescribe different standards for any bridge or bridges resulting from the reconstruction or replacement of that bridge or of any of those bridges;

(c) may prescribe standards by reference to any document published by the British Standards Institution, any government department or any other body or authority, and provide that where standards are prescribed as aforesaid any question as to the requirements to be fulfilled by a particular bridge in order to comply with those standards shall be determined, in case of dispute, by a certificate of the appropriate Minister;

(d) shall not, so long as a bridge is not reconstructed or replaced, be such as to require the bridge to comply with standards higher than those prescribed in relation thereto by a previous order under this section.

(5) For the purposes of subsection (3)(b) of this section, no account shall be taken of any traffic which cannot use the highway carried by the bridge in question without infringing a prohibition for the time being in force under section 1, 6, [F6 or 14 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984].

(6) The requirements of this section shall be in addition to, and, so far as inconsistent therewith, shall prevail over, any requirements applicable to the bridge in question under section 46, 50, 51, 52, or 66 of the M1 Railways Clauses Consolidation Act 1845, section 39, 43, 44, 45, or 58 of the M2 Railways Clauses Consolidation (Scotland) Act 1845 or under any similar enactment.

(7) In subsection (2) of this section references to a bridge being constructed by or belonging to a Board include references to its being constructed by or belonging to any two or more of the Boards mentioned in subsection (1) of this section, and in any such case the duties imposed by the said subsection (2) shall be duties of both or all of those Boards.

(8) In this section “the appropriate Minister” means, as respects bridges in England, the Minister [F7 ,as respects bridges in Scotland, the Scottish Ministers] and as respects bridges in F8 . . . Wales, the Secretary of State.

Extent Information

E1 This version of this provision extends to England and Wales only; a separate version has been created for Scotland only.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in s. 117 heading omitted (2.7.2012) by virtue of The British Waterways Board (Transfer of Functions) Order 2012 (S.I. 2012/1659), art. 1(2), Sch. 2 para. 47(2) (with arts. 4-6)

F2 Words in ss. 116-119 substituted (15.7.2003) by The Transport for London (Consequential Provisions) Order 2003 (S.I. 2003/1615), art. 1(1), Sch. 1 para. 4(2)

F3 S. 117(1A)(1B) inserted (20.3.1996) by S.I. 1996/420, art. 2, Sch. para. 3

F4 S. 117(1C)(1D) inserted (2.7.2012) by The British Waterways Board (Transfer of Functions) Order 2012 (S.I. 2012/1659), art. 1(2), Sch. 2 para. 47(3) (with arts. 4-6)

F5 S. 117(1E)(1F) inserted (30.9.2013) by The Public Bodies (Abolition of BRB (Residuary) Limited) Order 2013 (S.I. 2013/2314), arts. 1(2), 5(2)

F6 Words substituted by Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 (c. 27, SIF 107:1), s. 144, Sch. 13 para. 7

F7 Words in s. 117(8) inserted (1.4.2001) by S.I. 2000/3251, arts. 1(2)(b), 2, Sch. 2 Pt. II, para. 3(29)(a) (with art. 4)

F8 Words in s. 117(8) repealed (1.4.2001) by S.I. 2000/3251, arts. 1(2)(b), 2, Sch. 2 Pt. II, para. 3(29)(b) (with art. 4)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 117 amended by Transport (London) Act 1969 (c. 35), Sch. 3 para. 1(1)(2)

C2 Ss. 116, 117 extended by Channel Tunnel Act 1987 (c. 53, SIF 102), ss. 6, 45, Sch. 2 para. 21(4)

C3 Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (21.5.1992) by S.I. 1992/1267, art. 7.

C4 Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (22.6.1993) by S.I. 1993/1607, art. 9 (with arts. 8, 12(2), 13, 14)

C5 Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (29.6.1993) by S.I. 1993/1651, art. 3(4) (with arts. 6, 8, 9, 10(2))

Ss. 116, 117 applied (with modifications) (18.12.1996) by 1996 c. 61, s. 3, Sch. 3 para. 13

Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (26.7.1994) by S.I. 1994/1803, art. 6

Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (4.5.1995) by S.I. 1995/1236, art. 3(5)

Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (10.5.1995) by S.I. 1995/1300, art. 3(4)

Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (21.9.1995) by S.I. 1995/2501, art. 8

Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (16.10.1996) by S.I. 1996/2660, art. 4(7)

Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (23.9.1997) by S.I. 1997/2262, art. 4(3)

Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (9.10.1997) by S.I. 1997/2534, art. 7

Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (21.7.1999) by S.I. 1999/2382, art. 4(2)

Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (4.8.2000) by S.I. 2000/2585, art. 4(2)

Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications (12.8.2002) by S.I. 2002/1997, art. 9(1)

C6 Ss. 116-119 applied (with modifications) (1.9.1993) by S.I. 1993/2154, art. 3(4)

Ss. 116-119 applied (with modifications) (16.5.2002) by S.I. 2002/1384, art. 3(4) (with arts. 10(2), 11)

C7 Ss. 116-119 modified (15.7.2003) by The Transport for London (Consequential Provisions) Order 2003 (S.I. 2003/1615), art. 1(1), Sch. 1 para. 4(4)

C8 Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (3.8.2004) by The Eden Valley Railway Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/1817), arts. 1, 3(2)

C9 Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (30.11.2007) by The East Kent Railway Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/3234), arts. 1, 4(2)

C10 S. 117 applied (with modifications) (22.7.2008) by Crossrail Act 2008 (c. 18), Sch. 3 para. 13

C11 Ss. 116-118 applied (16.8.2012) by The Nene Valley Railway (Fletton Branch) Order 2012 (S.I. 2012/1993), arts. 1(1), 3(3) (with art. 4)

C12 Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (26.6.2014) by The Swanage Railway Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/1604), arts. 1(1), 3(2) (with art. 5)

C13 Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (28.9.2015) by The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/1652), arts. 1, 4(1)(c) (with art. 6(5))

C14 S. 117 modified (23.2.2017) by High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Act 2017 (c. 7), s. 70(1), Sch. 4 para. 18

C15 S. 117 applied (5.11.2020) by The Wear Valley Railway (Transfer) Order 2020 (S.I. 2020/1137), arts. 1, 9(1) (with arts. 6(2), 9(2))

C16 S. 117 modified (11.2.2021) by High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) Act 2021 (c. 2), s. 64(1), Sch. 4 para. 21

Marginal Citations

M1 1845 c. 20.

M2 1845 c. 33.

117 Duty F1 ... as respects bridges carrying highways. S

(1) This section applies to any bridge which—

(a) carries a [F9 [road]] over one or more of the following that is to say, a railway of the Railways Board, a railway of [F10 London Regional Transport], an inland waterway of the Waterways Board or any other installation or land used by any of those Boards in connection with a railway or inland waterway; and

(b) belongs to the Board or Boards whose railway, waterway, installation or land is crossed by the bridge.

[F11 (1A) This section also applies to a bridge (whenever constructed) which—

(a) carries a highway over—

(i) a railway comprised in a transferred network or a new network of a network owner, or

(ii) any other installation or land used by a network owner in connection with a railway or network comprised in a transferred network or a new network of that network owner, and

(b) belongs to the network owner whose railway, installation or land is crossed by the bridge,

and in relation to any such bridge references in this section to each of the Boards or a Board are, subject to subsection (1B) of this section, to be read as references to the network owner.

F11 (1B) Subsection (7) applies in relation to a bridge constructed by or belonging to a network owner and one or more of the Boards mentioned in subsection (1) of this section as it applies in relation to a bridge constructed by or belonging to any two or more Boards.]

[F4 (1C) This section also applies to a bridge (whenever constructed) which —

(a) carries a highway over an inland waterway of Canal & River Trust or any other installation or land used by Canal & River Trust in connection with an inland waterway, and

(b) belongs to Canal & River Trust,

and in relation to any such bridge references in this section to each of the Boards or a Board are, subject to subsection (1D), to be read as references to Canal & River Trust.

(1D) Subsection (7) applies in relation to a bridge constructed by or belonging to—

(a) Canal & River Trust and one or more of the Boards mentioned in subsection (1) of this section;

(b) Canal & River Trust and a network owner; or

(c) Canal & River Trust, one or more of the Boards mentioned in subsection (1) of this section and a network owner,

as it applies in relation to a bridge constructed by or belonging to any two or more Boards.] 

[F5 (1E) This section also applies to a bridge (whenever constructed) which—

(a) carries a highway over a railway of the Secretary of State, or any other installation or land used by the Secretary of State in connection with a railway, and

(b) belongs to the Secretary of State;

and in relation to any such bridge references in this section to each of the Boards or a Board are, subject to subsection (1F), to be read as references to the Secretary of State.

(1F) Subsection (7) applies in relation to a bridge constructed by or belonging to—

(a) the Secretary of State and one or more of the Boards mentioned in subsection (1) of this section;

(b) the Secretary of State and a network owner;

(c) the Secretary of State and Canal & River Trust; or

(d) the Secretary of State and one or more of the Boards mentioned in subsection (1) of this section, a network owner and Canal & River Trust;

as it applies in relation to a bridge constructed by or belonging to any two or more Boards.]

(2) It shall be the duty of each of the Boards mentioned in subsection (1) of this section—

(a) in constructing a bridge which, on completion, will belong to the Board and be a bridge to which this section applies, or in reconstructing a bridge which belongs to the Board and to which this section applies, to secure that it has the required load-bearing capacity;

(b) to maintain and, if necessary, to improve or strengthen any bridge which belongs to the Board and to which this section applies so that it has the required load-bearing capacity, and, if at any time it is not reasonably practicable to secure that it has that capacity by means of maintenance, improvement or strengthening, to reconstruct the bridge or to replace it by a new bridge.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2) of this section a bridge has the required load-bearing capacity—

(a) in the case of a bridge in relation to which load-bearing standards are prescribed by an order made by the appropriate Minister, if it complies with those standards; and

(b) in the case of any other bridge, if it is such as to be capable of bearing the weight of the traffic which ordinarily uses, or may reasonably be expected to use, the highway carried by the bridge on or about the day on which this section comes into force in relation to bridges of the Board concerned or, if the bridge is constructed subsequently, [F12 —

(i) when the bridge is opened (the date of opening being before 1st January 1985) for traffic on the highway so carried;

(ii) when the bridge is opened (the date of opening being on or after 1st January 1985) for traffic on the road so carried.]

(4) An order made for the purposes of subsection (3)(a) of this section—

(a) may prescribe standards for a particular bridge or for any class or description of bridges;

(b) may, in prescribing standards for a particular bridge or for any class or description of bridges, at the same time prescribe different standards for any bridge or bridges resulting from the reconstruction or replacement of that bridge or of any of those bridges;

(c) may prescribe standards by reference to any document published by the British Standards Institution, any government department or any other body or authority, and provide that where standards are prescribed as aforesaid any question as to the requirements to be fulfilled by a particular bridge in order to comply with those standards shall be determined, in case of dispute, by a certificate of the appropriate Minister;

(d) shall not, so long as a bridge is not reconstructed or replaced, be such as to require the bridge to comply with standards higher than those prescribed in relation thereto by a previous order under this section.

(5) For the purposes of subsection (3)(b) of this section, no account shall be taken of any traffic which cannot use the highway [F13 , or as the case may be road,] carried by the bridge in question without infringing a prohibition for the time being in force under section 1, 6, [F14 or 14 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984].

(6) The requirements of this section shall be in addition to, and, so far as inconsistent therewith, shall prevail over, any requirements applicable to the bridge in question under section 46, 50, 51, 52, or 66 of the M3 Railways Clauses Consolidation Act 1845, section 39, 43, 44, 45, or 58 of the M4 Railways Clauses Consolidation (Scotland) Act 1845 or under any similar enactment.

(7) In subsection (2) of this section references to a bridge being constructed by or belonging to a Board include references to its being constructed by or belonging to any two or more of the Boards mentioned in subsection (1) of this section, and in any such case the duties imposed by the said subsection (2) shall be duties of both or all of those Boards.

(8) In this section “the appropriate Minister” means, as respects bridges in England, the Minister [F15 , as respects bridges in Scotland, the Scottish Ministers]and as respects bridges in F16 . . .Wales, the Secretary of State.

Extent Information

E2 This version of this provision extends to Scotland only; a separate version has been created for England and Wales only.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in s. 117 heading omitted (2.7.2012) by virtue of The British Waterways Board (Transfer of Functions) Order 2012 (S.I. 2012/1659), art. 1(2), Sch. 2 para. 47(2) (with arts. 4-6)

F4 S. 117(1C)(1D) inserted (2.7.2012) by The British Waterways Board (Transfer of Functions) Order 2012 (S.I. 2012/1659), art. 1(2), Sch. 2 para. 47(3) (with arts. 4-6)

F5 S. 117(1E)(1F) inserted (30.9.2013) by The Public Bodies (Abolition of BRB (Residuary) Limited) Order 2013 (S.I. 2013/2314), arts. 1(2), 5(2)

F9 Word in s. 117(1) substituted (S.) (1.1.1985) by Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 (c. 54), s. 157(2), Sch. 9 para. 66(3)(a).

F10 Words substituted by virtue of London Regional Transport Act 1984 (c. 32, SIF 126), Sch. 4 Pt. I para. 4(1)

F11 S. 117(1A)(1B) inserted (20.3.1996) by S.I. 1996/420, art. 2, Sch. para. 3

F12 Words in s. 117(3) substituted (S.) (1.1.1985) by Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 (c. 54, SIF 108), s. 157(2), Sch. 9 para. 66(3)(b)

F13 Words inserted (S.) (1.1.1985) by Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 (c. 54, SIF 108), s. 157(2), Sch. 9 para. 66(3)(c)

F14 Words substituted by Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 (c. 27, SIF 107:1), s. 144, Sch. 13 para. 7

F15 Words in s. 117(8) inserted (1.4.2001) by S.I. 2000/3251, arts. 1(2)(b), 2, Sch. 2 Pt. II para. 3(29)(a) (with art. 4)

F16 Words in s. 117(8) omitted (1.4.2001) by S.I. 2000/3251, arts. 1(2)(b), 2, Sch. 2 Pt. II para. 3(29)(b) (with art. 4)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C7 Ss. 116-119 modified (15.7.2003) by The Transport for London (Consequential Provisions) Order 2003 (S.I. 2003/1615), art. 1(1), Sch. 1 para. 4(4)

C8 Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (3.8.2004) by The Eden Valley Railway Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/1817), arts. 1, 3(2)

C9 Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (30.11.2007) by The East Kent Railway Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/3234), arts. 1, 4(2)

C10 S. 117 applied (with modifications) (22.7.2008) by Crossrail Act 2008 (c. 18), Sch. 3 para. 13

C11 Ss. 116-118 applied (16.8.2012) by The Nene Valley Railway (Fletton Branch) Order 2012 (S.I. 2012/1993), arts. 1(1), 3(3) (with art. 4)

C12 Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (26.6.2014) by The Swanage Railway Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/1604), arts. 1(1), 3(2) (with art. 5)

C13 Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (28.9.2015) by The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/1652), arts. 1, 4(1)(c) (with art. 6(5))

C14 S. 117 modified (23.2.2017) by High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Act 2017 (c. 7), s. 70(1), Sch. 4 para. 18

C15 S. 117 applied (5.11.2020) by The Wear Valley Railway (Transfer) Order 2020 (S.I. 2020/1137), arts. 1, 9(1) (with arts. 6(2), 9(2))

C16 S. 117 modified (11.2.2021) by High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) Act 2021 (c. 2), s. 64(1), Sch. 4 para. 21

C17 S. 117 amended by Transport (London) Act 1969 (c. 35), Sch. 3 para. 1(1)(2)

C18 Ss. 116, 117 extended by Channel Tunnel Act 1987 (c. 53, SIF 102), ss. 6, 45, Sch. 2 para. 21(4)

C19 Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (21.5.1992) by S.I. 1992/1267, art. 7.

C20 Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (22.6.1993) by S.I. 1993/1607, art. 9 (with arts. 8, 12(2), 13, 14)

C21 Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (29.6.1993) by S.I. 1993/1651, art. 3(4) (with arts. 6, 8, 9, 10(2))

Ss. 116, 117 applied (with modifications) (18.12.1996) by 1996 c. 61, s. 3, Sch. 3 para. 13

Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (26.7.1994) by S.I. 1994/1803, art. 6

ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (4.5.1995) by S.I. 1995/1236, art. 3(5)

Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (10.5.1995) by S.I. 1995/1300, art. 3(4)

Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (21.9.1995) by S.I. 1995/2501, art. 8

Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (16.10.1996) by S.I. 1996/2660, art. 4(7)

Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (23.9.1997) by S.I. 1997/2262, art. 4(3)

Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (9.10.1997) by S.I. 1997/2534, art. 7

Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (21.7.1999) by S.I. 1999/2382, art. 4(2)

Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (4.8.2000) by S.I. 2000/2585, art. 4(2)

Ss. 116-118 applied (with modifications) (12.8.2002) by S.I. 2000/1997, art. 9(1)

C22 Ss. 116-119 applied (with modifications) (1.9.1993) by S.I. 1993/2154, art. 3(4)

Ss. 116-119 applied (with modifications) (16.5.2002) by S.I. 2002/1384, art. 3(4) (with arts. 10(2), 11)

Marginal Citations

M3 1845 c. 20.

M4 1845 c. 33.