Visited in August 2008 this shelter and former railway tunnel has become one of the hottest topics in Bristol due to the closure of the road that runs over it. At present the road remains close due to a fault running through the rock face and further complications caused by the deterioration of this 80 year old tunnel. Latest estimates put the costs at £2million pounds to reopen the road. Many people, myself included, think the road is better off closed due to the significant improvement of the flow of traffic on the A4 portway that adjoins it.
Bridge Valley Deep Shelter started out life as a railway tunnel for the ill fated Bristol Port and Pier Railway which ran up to just under the Clifton Suspension Bridge. In the 1930’s the railway was removed due to expansion of what is now the busy A4 portway road into Bristol. The tunnel remained disused till the advent of the 2nd world war when it, along with the Clifton Rocks Railway tunnel, found use as air raid shelters. Later in life it became used, in part, by the Bristol handgun club. When new handgun laws came into effect in the club ceased and the tunnel has remained dormant every since.
4 Comments