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[[File: Hay_Bridge_20150415.jpg|thumb|300px|right| Hay Bridge from the East]]
Hay Bridge (occasionally spelt "Haye Bridge"; Bridge 26) allows the main road between Bridgnorth and Highley to pass underneath the Severn Valley Railway between the villages of Eardington and Chelmarsh, and is situated just South of [[Eardington]]. It is named after the nearby Hay Farm, the farmhouse of which is a 17th Century Grade II listed building. <ref>[https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1053860 Historic England] (Retrieved 20 July 2019</ref>
==Preservation==
Prior to opening in May 1970, an inspection revealed that parts of the main bridge girders were rotting away. During two weeks In February 1970 more than a ton of steel plate was welded onto the bridge to strengthen it.<ref>SVR News 16</ref>
Much of the bridge was replaced by the SVR in June 1975 as part of a programme of work to upgrade the line and increase the permitted axle weight of locomotives using it. The new bridge was built by [[Severn Valley Railway (Holdings) PLCDavid Owen#Notable shareholdingsRubery_Owen|Rubery Owen]] who had replaced the [[Underbridge on Station Road, Highley|bridge at Highley]] in 1974. One of the edge beams still carries a plaque showing “Brymbo 1861”.
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File: Hay_Bridge_2_20150415.jpg | Hay bridge detail
Another bridge strike occurred on 11 June 2007, with the line being closed for a day and a half on this occasion while a crane lifted the bridge back onto its bearings.<ref>SVR News 158</ref> Eight days later a [[2007 Storm Damage|freak thunderstorm]] closed the line again, this time for a number of months.
As a result of bridge strikes the height restriction was changed from a warning (red triangle) to a prohibitory (red circle) traffic sign.
==See also==
