A HISTORIC Paisley bridge is to be closed for six months for a £1.5million upgrade.

A HISTORIC Paisley bridge is to be closed for six months for a £1.5million upgrade.

Abbey Bridge, which crosses the White Cart, was built in 1879 and can no longer cope with the volume of traffic.

It will close on May 5 to allow the dilapidated cast iron parapet and fascia panels, both footways and the bridge deck to be waterproofed and movement joints replaced.

The bridge will also get a facelift with the application of anti-corrosion paint.

Marie McGurk, convener of Renfrewshire Council's environment and infrastructure policy board, said, "The Abbey Bridge is a major part of Paisley's road network.

"Maintaining that network is a key part of our regeneration strategy for the town centre.

"The council has only recently completed refurbishing the Abercorn Bridge and this gives Paisley people a great before and after view of how the finished Abbey Bridge will look.

"We are determined this B listed building, in the heart of Paisley, should be restored to its former glory while still being able to cope with modern traffic volumes."

Once complete, a full set of new parapets and facia panels will be cast and installed.

The original iron facia panels, which weight 13 tonnes, were removed in June last year for safety reasons.

The Abbey Bridge parapets lack the movement joints built into modern structures to allow them to expand and contract in changing temperatures.

This means the original cast iron components have buckled and fractured over the years.

In 1993, a survey of the bridge found the 1933 era carriageways could take 40 tonne vehicles but the footways, dating from 1879, could only take the weight of pedestrians.

Bollards were installed as a temporary measure to protect the footways from vehicles accidentally mounting the pavement.

Diversions will be put in place while the bridge is closed.