Last updated at 20:03, Thursday, 05 July 2012

The new Northside Bridge in Workington is impressively taking shape, as our pictures show today.

But we are frequently reminded of the devastating natural force that required this structure to be built in the first place.

Just a few hundred yards upstream from the bridge - replacing the crossing swept away in the 2009 floods - the River Derwent has been carving chunks out of the riverbank.

About 30 feet of the bank has disappeared since 2009.

Anglers say they can no longer fish there because it is too dangerous.

There are fears that it may begin to undermine the main road nearby.

There is concern that a gravel shoal in the riverbed has been allowed to build up; that’s similar to the complaints made about what may have contributed to the massive flood in Cockermouth three years ago.

Local people claim that their pleas for urgent remedial work are being ignored.

And, because of constant heavy downpours this summer, our rivers are in danger of being turned into raging torrents once again.

The risks are clear. The design of the new Northside Bridge ought to withstand anything thrown at it, but something must be urgently done to protect the riverbank as a whole.

And, as we know, time and tides wait for no man.

First published at 19:20, Thursday, 05 July 2012
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk