Verulam (readers' letters – July 2026)

Niamh McCloskey reflects on her personal experience of the challenging reality of returning to work after maternity leave, questioning whether workplaces truly support women in this transition and highlighting how, with the right support and recognition of the new perspectives and skills that motherhood can bring, we can retain mothers and allow them to thrive in underrepresented industries.

Steven McKerlie is troubled by longstanding underinvestment in maintenance of UK bridge assets and the implications of this for safety if weaknesses in past assessments that are still relied on are not acknowledged.

A recent report on the UK's ageing infrastructure should be a wake-up call to both structural engineers and asset owners, argues Eva MacNamara, as it offers ways to change stewardship for the better and keep our infrastructure in service for longer.