Council paints the town blue and white

Exciting plans have been unveiled to give Blackburn’s Wainwright Bridge a Blackburn Rovers-themed makeover.

As part of planned routine maintenance, Blackburn with Darwen Council are going to re-paint the bridge and have chosen to do it in Rovers’ famous blue and white halves.

The Council hopes to bring the landmark to life by playing homage to the iconic Ewood Park club.

The move is also designed to give the borough a boost as it faces ongoing coronavirus restrictions – with fans as yet unable to attend games at Ewood Park.

The Council are working with Rovers on the plans who are providing the correct paint codes for the club’s colours.

It is hoped the re-paint will start in November, after talks have completed with Network Rail and plans put in place to implement highways changes to allow the work to take place.

The work is expected to take three to four months to complete.

Rovers currently sit sixth in the Championship after a promising start to the season.

Councillor Phil Riley, Executive Member for Growth and Development, said:

When I realised that it was the Council’s turn to paint the Wainwright Bridge, and I was asked about a colour scheme, as a lifelong Rovers supporter there was only one answer. The bridge is a notable landmark and it will be great to see it painted in the famous blue and white halves. We all need something to cheer us up at the moment particularly as none of us can go and watch the Rovers. Hopefully this will help to lift everyone’s spirits a bit.

Blackburn Rovers CEO, Steve Waggott, said:

It is a fantastic gesture by the Council and we can’t wait to see one of the town’s most prominent landmarks lit up in Rovers’ blue-and-white halves. Hopefully we can arrange something special to officially open the new-look bridge once the work has been completed in the new year. We know how proud the people of Blackburn are of their historic football club and hopefully this will bring some joy to our supporters at a time when they are unfortunately unable to support their team at Ewood Park.