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In the late 1990s, after nearly four decades of use, it was found that the Tamar Bridge would not be able to meet a new European Union directive that bridges should be capable of carrying lorries up to 40 tonnes. In fact, the concrete deck had deteriorated so much that the weight limit for vehicles crossing bridge was in danger of being reduced to 17 tonnes. It was agreed that this restriction would damage the local economy, so the bridge needed to be strengthened or replaced.

It was estimated that building an alternative river crossing would cost in excess of GBP300 million. Once a viable strengthening scheme was proposed, the idea of building a new bridge was abandoned due to the high cost.

The main problem with strengthening the Tamar Bridge was that since it catered for around 40 000 vehicles a day, closing it for the duration was not a viable option. An engineer proposed temporarily adding cantilever platforms to the sides of the bridge to accommodate traffic while the main deck was strengthened. Once this revolutionary technique had been accepted, it was soon decided that these two extra lanes should be permanent additions to the bridge in order to increase the number of lanes from three to five.

This additional capacity was not expected to encourage a large increase in the number of vehicles using the Tamar Bridge. The A38 passes through the three-lane Saltash Tunnel on the Cornish side of the bridge (this acts as a subterranean bypass for Saltash and opened in 1988). The tunnel was expected to regulate the amount of traffic using the bridge despite the increased capacity. The real benefit of these extra lanes would be to make the Tamar Bridge safer and more pleasant for all types of traffic. Pedestrians and cyclists would be safer since they were properly separated from all motor vehicles. Also, local traffic eastbound from Saltash would no longer have to merge with the A38, eliminating a notorious accident black spot.

The principal designer of the strengthening and widening of the Tamar Bridge was Hyder Consulting Ltd, and the principal contractor was Cleveland Bridge UK Ltd (who originally built the bridge). The overall cost was approximately GBP34 million (a fraction of the estimated GBP300 million for a new bridge). This was funded from the revenue from tolls paid to cross the Tamar Bridge into Devon.

Work began on the Tamar Bridge in March 1999 and was completed, one month behind schedule, in December 2001. At one point the project was three months behind schedule. The delays were due both to an embargo on road works for the total solar eclipse of 11 August 1999 which saw tourists flock to Cornwall, one of the few areas of the UK in the path of totality, and also due to extremely bad weather during the winter of 1999/2000.

The improved bridge was fully opened to traffic on 20 December 2001 (although it was never fully closed, in fact during peak hours every effort was made to keep three lanes open). The Tamar Bridge was officially reopened by Princess Anne on 26 April 2002 forty years to the day after it was first officially opened.

The Tamar Bridge originally had a concrete deck. This had degraded so seriously over its four decades of use that rather than simply being reinforced it was entirely replaced by an orthotropic steel deck (i.e. a deck formed from steel plates supported underneath by longitudinal ribs or stiffeners). The members were also strengthened by the addition of steelwork, and 18 new diagonal cable stays were fitted. The two new cantilever lanes were added to the bridge before the old concrete deck was replaced so as to be available to diverted traffic. At all times during the project, the importance of maintaining the flow of traffic over the bridge was emphasised. Even during construction work the Tamar Bridge served approximately 40 000 vehicles a week.