A busy road in Rickmansworth is to close for four weeks while London Underground repair a 127-year-old bridge.

The railway bridge in Station Road will be replaced next year, believed to be around Easter time, but London Underground needs to complete “ground works” before this can happen.

London Underground has asked for Station Road, Rickmansworth, to be closed for four weeks, from Monday, October 19 to Monday, November 16.

In a letter from Transport for London submitted to Three Rivers District Council, a soil investigation “revealed the bridge is currently founded on weak chalk”.

It continued: “The calculated capacity of the existing bridge foundations is found to be insufficient to carry the vertical and horizontal loads imposed by the new bridge.”

Council officers are admitting it “will have a significant impact on traffic flows around Rickmansworth High Street”.

Council sources have also indicated the road closure plans have not been submitted to the authority yet.

Representatives are expected to be briefed on the proposals next Thursday.