02.08.17
Nexus starts work on £5.5m Tyne and Wear bridge replacement
Major work has begun this week to replace a rail bridge that serves the Tyne and Wear Metro service.
Nexus, the operator who runs light rail in the region, said that the bridge over Killingworth Road in the Gosforth area had now been removed and that a new steel bridge was being installed as part of a £5.5m scheme.
The wrought iron parapet on the side of the old bridge was removed on Monday and will be donated to the Stephenson Railway Museum.
The bridge deck was removed in the early hours of Tuesday by contractor Story, who used a specialist wheeled rig to lift the deck clear of the bridge’s abutments and move it up Killingworth Road into the nearby site compound. The new bridge deck will now be moved into place and secured later this month.
Raymond Johnstone, director of Rail and Infrastructure at Nexus, said: “We’ve made a great start to what is a big engineering challenge for Metro. This is the first time we have replaced an entire bridge on Metro’s infrastructure.
“The old Killingworth Road bridge has been carefully removed from its abutments and the space is now clear for the new bridge to be installed later this month.
“I’m grateful to the public for the patience while the line is closed. This scheme wouldn’t have been possible without closing the Metro line.”
The Metro line will now be closed between South Gosforth and Four Lane Ends from Monday 31 July until Friday 11 August, with services expected to resume as normal on Sunday 3 September.
The works to the bridge are part of a £350m programme designed to modernise the Tyne and Wear Metro network.
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