Moving bridges operated by East Riding of Yorkshire Council

East Riding of Yorkshire council operate 3 moveable bridges. When you request a bridge opening, you need to give us 3 working day's notice.

Boothferry Bridge, Goole

Dutch River Bridge, Goole

Weel Bridge, River Hull, Beverley

Key information before you submit a request

Specific regulations

You must check you meet the following requirements before submitting a request:

• Insurance

  You must have suitable insurance in place before making a request.

  Third-party liability insurance (required by law) required for most vessels operating in UK waters. It covers injury or damage caused to other people, vessels or property. 


  For commercial vessels you may also need the following:

  • Employers’ liability insurance - if you employ crew
  • Public liability insurance - if your vessel carries passengers or provides services
  • Hull and machinery insurance - not required by law but strongly recommended to cover damage to your own vessel.

  For pleasure craft and recreational boats: third-party insurance may be required by marinas, harbours or inland waterways authorities such as the Canal & River Trust.


• Vessel safety

  Your vessel must meet all requirements under the Merchant Shipping (Safety of Navigation) Regulations 2020.

• Local conditions

  Check:

  • tide tables on the Tide Tables website.

  • air draught (at Boothferry bridge) [how would they find out about this - is there a website you usually recommend?]
  • the GOV.UK website to check river conditions and closures, and the Causeway one.network for scheduled maintenance restrictions, that may affect opening times.

• Lower any non-essential structures

  Do not request a bridge opening if structures like antennas or masts can be lowered to allow safe passage.

General regulations

How much notice to provide

You must give us at least 3 working day’s notice when you request a bridge opening. Do not travel to the bridge until we have confirmed your booking.

Approach all bridges with caution

Follow all signals, signs and instructions from bridge operators.

Vessel responsibilities

Vessels must not cause unreasonable delays to bridge operation.

Vessels must maintain clear communication with bridge operators.

Bridge operator duties

Open bridges promptly upon receiving a valid signal, unless restricted.

Service cancellation, suspension or delay

The bridge operator reserves the right to cancel, delay or suspend openings without notice, due to incidents such as:

• severe weather
• mechanical failure
• emergency services access
• accidents or obstructions
• labour strikes or civil unrest.

Operations will resume as soon as it is safe to do so.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council accepts no liability for delays or losses caused by such cancellations.

Incident reporting and liability


All incidents must be logged and reported to the East Riding of Yorkshire Highways Structures team immediately. This includes all collisions, groundings, or near-misses.

Emergency incidents must be reported to the Emergency Services.

Vessel operators may be held liable for damage caused by negligence.

How to apply