The bridge has remained closed to cars since December 5 when the ravages of Storm Desmond saw the Tyne rise to unprecedented levels.
The temporary scaffolding that had surrounded the bridge during its £4.4m refurbishment had been buckled by the force of the water and gale force winds.
Flood debris was snagged by the highest section of scaffolding and the volume and speed of water and debris has meant that the scaffolding has been displaced downstream.
Some of the scaffolding has shifted to a section of the footbridge, halfway along the bridge.
As the footbridge is not designed to take the weight of pedestrians and the scaffolding, it is considered unsafe to use.
Pedestrians and cyclists are able to cross the road bridge but motorists are still unable to use it.
Before it can be opened, the bridge foundations will need to be inspected for damage.
But the foundations are currently buried beneath buckled scaffolding.
Diving inspections for both the road bridge and footbridge arranged for the week before Christmas were cancelled due to the consistently high level of the river.
And over the Christmas period, bad weather saw the river level rise depositing flood debris in the scaffolding once more.
Northumberland County Council says it is working with specialist scaffolding contractors to ‘identify the best solution.’
Work to remove the flood debris began on Monday and workers remained at the site on Tuesday in spite of torrential rain that saw the river burst its bank at Ovingham.
A county council spokesman said: “Due to continued high river levels, the inspection for both the road bridge and the footbridge cannot be carried out until the river level drops and therefore both will continue to be closed until further notice, with the exception of the road bridge which is open to pedestrians and cyclists only.
“Until the damaged scaffolding is removed and foundations inspected the road bridge cannot reopen.
“We are working with scaffolding contractors to identify the best solution for these operations, but safety for both the public and the workforce carrying out the work has to be our first priority.”
Ovingham Bridge was shut on December 5, just 48 hours after its long-awaited official opening following 18 months of extensive refurbishment work.
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