UPTON Bridge will be painted this year, Worcestershire County Council announced this week.

And residents are likely to be able to have a say on what colours they would like used for the job.

Richard Attwood, WCC’s engineering manager, attended Tuesday night’s meeting of Upton Town Council.

He told councillors that work on the project was likely to start in September, for completion in either December or January.

He said the project would hopefully be undertaken in “one seamless operation”, although there will be distinct phases to the work.

Early efforts will involve stripping the surfacing off carriageways and footpaths, and this will be undertaken at night as it will involve complete closure while work is carried out. He added that there would be pedestrian access across the bridge at all times.

Once this is complete the bridge will be painted, one half at a time.

“The bridge will be stripped to bare metal and then built back up with layers of high performance paint,” Mr Attwood explained. “Each side of the bridge will need to be encapsulated in scaffolding and sheeting, and it could take up to five or six weeks for each half to be completed.”

Temporary traffic lights would be in place while the painting is carried out.

When Mr Attwood told them that there would be a “certain amount of room for negotiation” over the colour scheme used, councillors suggested asking Upton residents for their suggestions.

The town council will lead this process, and more details will be announced in the coming weeks.

Possible colour schemes suggested by councillors at the meeting included black and gold and green and gold.