Huge concrete components which will form a new £20m railway bridge and roundabout in Stockport are now travelling over the Irish sea ready for the project’s main construction phase in just a few days’ time.
Network Rail and engineers from its contractor Murphy are gearing up for a meticulously planned three-week window during which Greek Street bridge is dismantled and rebuilt from this Saturday (2 August).
It will see a rare railway closure of a 50-mile stretch of the West Coast Main Line for 21 days until the morning of Saturday 23 August while the large-scale civil engineering project takes place.
Ahead of the significant railway closure, behind the scenes footage has been released showing how the components for the bridge have been made and tested over recent months at a huge manufacturing site in Ireland.
Drone footage of a specially sequenced trial assembly was filmed as part of dress rehearsals to make sure installation in Stockport goes smoothly.
With all the trial assemblies complete, the bridge components are now being transported on the back of 40 lorries and low-loaders, travelling by ferry from Dublin to Liverpool and then by road to Greater Manchester.
Some of the bridge sections are being stored near Trafford Park, while others will arrive straight to site in special convoys ready to be immediately craned into position.
Construction involves large cranes and careful choreography to tight timescales, so the learning from the tests in Ireland has been vital.
William Brandon, Network Rail scheme project manager, said: “After years of planning we’re excited that this weekend all our preparations will be put into action, so we can successfully rebuild Greek Street railway bridge and improve both the road and rail network for the future for both road users and passengers.
“Once again I’d urge people to check National Rail Enquiries if planning to travel between 2-23 August while the railway through Stockport is totally closed so we can safely carry out our major railway bridge upgrade.”
Paul Williams, Murphy senior engineering manager, said: “Completing the construction ‘dress rehearsal’ enabled us to fully test our installation methodology prior to installing the new Greek Street bridge for real. As a result of this test, we changed the sequence in which we’ll crane the sections into position in order to maximise the efficiency of our works during the closure.
"We look forward to completing these upgrades and improving transport links across the area.”
As well as the £20m investment to replace Greek Street railway bridge, Network Rail is using the rare railway closure between Saturday 2 and Saturday 23 August to carry out an additional £23m of further improvements to the West Coast Main Line between Stafford and Stockport
During the recent site visit to the manufacturing facility, 35 miles north-west of Dublin, Network Rail project engineers also saw the street facing sides to the bridge under construction, including where the replica of the much-admired Edgeley Station mosaic will be recreated.
Once the new railway bridge is in, and the West Coast Main Line reopens, work will then move to the reconstruction of Greek Street roundabout and relaying of surrounding roads.
Video and Video credits: Network Rail
