Impressive footage has been released showing a huge new railway bridge being installed over the West Coast Main Line in Greater Manchester.
Network Rail and its contractor Murphy are just days away from completing the main phase of a £20m project to overhaul Greek Street bridge in Stockport.
Over the last two weeks teams have successfully dismantled and removed 200 beams from the old structure, and lifted and positioned beams for its replacement over five railway lines.
With just three more days until the railway reopens on Saturday 23 August in time for the August bank holiday, latest footage shows the major progress made over the last week.
t reveals how, piece by piece, the large steel and concrete beams were driven by special police escort from a storage site at Trafford Park and craned into position in a carefully choreographed sequence over a four-day period.
Lifted by two huge cranes, with a combined capacity of 1,300 tonnes, the new bridge parts* were inched into position across a 60m gap above the tracks, in the place where the former structure was standing for 67 years.
Around 100 engineers per day are working around the clock to rebuild the Greek Street bridge.
When complete it will mean more reliable journeys for passenger and freight traffic on the railway below - and for road users above - as normally it carries a four-way roundabout.
William Brandon, Network Rail’s project manager, said: “The work at Greek Street has been planned meticulously, and its great to see it all come together on site as we expected. I’m so grateful to everyone working so hard on the project
“Once the railway reopens, journeys for passengers will be safer and more reliable for the next 120 years. This truly is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve the West Coast Main Line for future generations. I'd like to thank local people for their patience while the project continues, and to passengers whose journeys have been affected over the last few weeks.”
Stephen Harnett, Murphy project manager, said: “It’s immensely rewarding to complete this core milestone of the project. The effort put in by our team has been nothing short of amazing as they work around the clock to upgrade and return this critical piece of infrastructure to the local community.”
Lisa Magee, Avanti West Coast station manager at Stockport, said: “It’s great to see the work to Greek Street bridge is progressing nicely, as the project reaches this latest milestone. We’d like to thank our customers for their continued patience and understanding while the West Coast Main Line is closed and remind those who are making journeys up to and including 22 August to plan ahead, check the National Rail website before travelling, and leave plenty of time.”
Cllr Grace Baynham, Cabinet Member of Parks, Highways and Transport Services, said: "We’re continuing to work closely with our partners to support our local residents and businesses every step of the way as Network Rail delivers the essential improvements Stockport needs.
“I want to thank residents and businesses for their continued patience and resilience - we know it hasn’t been easy, but the way people have responded to the disruption so far really shows the strength of our community."
The original bridge, which was constructed in 1958 is being be replaced with a modern structure which will last for up to 120 years.
The effects of the closure are far-reaching because of the critical location of the bridge.
During the closure, there are no train services on the line between Stoke-on-Trent and Manchester Piccadilly, and no train services on other lines into Stockport. Where possible, services are being diverted around Stockport.
With tracks clear of most train traffic along approximately 50 miles of the West Coast Main Line between Staffordshire and Stockport, it provides a perfect opportunity for Network Rail and its contractors to access the railway for dozens of additional railway upgrades
Image and video credits: Network Rail
