LIMITED traffic was flowing in and out of Richmond over the flood-damaged Mercury bridge today after a temporary structure was put in place.

Traders in the town claim to have lost millions of pounds worth of business since the 154-year-old bridge over the Swale had to be closed to all traffic in early June after part of the central parapet collapsed in heavy floods.

A temporary structure to allow the passage of pedestrians and light traffic has now been placed on top of the existing bridge on the north-east side as part of a £1.5m rebuilding package by North Yorkshire County Council.

The temporary bridge could not be put in place until the central pier had been stabilised with extensive piling work from the top. Work is now starting to repair the central pier in the river bed.

The bridge is due to be fully reopened to traffic by December, but an engineer said yesterday that river conditions would be a critical factor over the next two months.

As well as pedestrians, the temporary bridge will take vehicles under 7.5 tonnes. Traffic will be single file, controlled by lights, and there will be a maximum width restriction of 2.4 metres. A free bus service linking both sides of the river will continue until the bridge is fully reopened.

Mr Mike Moore, North Yorkshire director of environmental services, said: "We are still on schedule to have the bridge fully reopened by December and that is a terrific achievement.

"A lot of work was done behind the scenes and preparatory work on site was all-important. We had to ensure the work was carried out as quickly - but above all as safely - as possible."

Mr David Bull, of contractors Morrison Construction, said: "Recent weather conditions have created serious difficulties but we are pleased to have achieved this opening on time with the commitment of all the team.

"Our next objective is to see the bridge fully reopened and back to normal as soon as possible, and we hope weather conditions improve to allow us to achieve this fairly quickly."

The temporary bridge was opened yesterday by County Coun Peter Sowray, chairman of the environmental services committee, who drove the first car over it.

It was welcomed as a move in the right direction by Dr Mike Nicholls, chairman of Richmond business and tourism association, who said: "The real need is for vehicle access to get people used to coming into Richmond again and not getting set in new ways."

He said a survey in Richmond at the end of June showed traders' turnover was down by an average of 13pc, although it could not be claimed that this was all down to the bridge closure because the new Tesco store at Catterick Garrison had just opened.

He added: "The bridge closure could not have come at a worse time."

The county council rejected repeated calls from traders during the summer for a Bailey bridge, saying this would cost £370,000, would not be ready until the middle or end of October at the earliest and would not be an appropriate use of public funds