(1)Where a bridge carries a highway for which the Minister is not the highway authority and part of the bridge is situated in one county and part in another the highway authority for the highway carried by the bridge and the approaches thereto is such one of the councils of those counties as may be agreed between them before such a day as the Minister may by order made by statutory instrument appoint or, in default of such agreement, as may be determined by the Minister.
(2)Where the Minister has made a determination under subsection (1) above the determination—
(a)may be varied at the request of the council of either of the counties concerned; and
(b)shall be varied to give effect to any request made jointly to the Minister by those councils;
and any such variation shall take effect on the 1st April falling not less than 3 months, and not more than 15 months, after the date on which the determination is varied.
(3)Where a bridge carries a highway for which the Minister is not the highway authority and subsection (1) above does not apply, but some part of one or more of the approaches to the bridge lies in a county different from the bridge itself, the highway authority for the whole of that approach or those approaches is the council of the county in which the bridge is situated.
(4)For the purposes of this section, the approaches to a bridge consist of so much of the highway or highways on either side of the bridge as is situated within 100 yards of either end of the bridge.