Work to upgrade Sanderstead Road Bridge in Croydon will see road closures this Christmas.

Between December 26 and January 1 the bridge, which is between Broomhall Road and Purley Road, will be replaced.

The work is to upgrade the bridge decks which Network Rail says are weak and in a poor condition.

If they are not replaced, a speed restriction would have to be placed on the bridge which would impact trains on the Brighton mainline.

But road closures could be put in place from December 6 until the end of January while the bridge is fixed.

The footpath under the bridge will also be closed for periods of time – During this time a minibus will be used to transport pedestrians from one side of the bridge to the other using a different route.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: “Work will be taking place to improve Sanderstead Road Bridge and will be carried out in several parts between December 26 to January 1.

“The structure will be replaced, giving greater resilience to the bridge while reducing the impact of a bridge strike.

“We would like to thank people in the area for their patience whilst the work is carried out and apologise for any inconvenience.”

Now that work is taking place an area of South Croydon Recreation Ground is being used by Network Rail.

A compound has been set up where the surface of the bridge will be delivered – the elements of it are built off site.

A month is dedicated to get the area back to how it was, this is expected to be completed by March 2020.

Important dates:

December 14-16 – Closure of the railway bridge on the North side (old garage side) trains will continue to run on the south side.

December 24-27 – Closure of the railway (recreation side) for replacement of the south side deck. Trains will run on other side.

December 27-31 – Closure of the railway (old garage side) for replacement of the north side deck. Trains will run on other side.

January 1-2 – Closure of railway (old garage side) to complete track works and and remove scaffold bridge.

January 24-27 – Road closure to complete works on the recreation side of the bridge and remove scaffold bridge.