Media centre

Tuesday 3 May 2016

Bridge Street road bridge closed as part of essential railway upgrade to deliver faster, quieter trains

Region & Route:

| Wales & Western: Wales & Borders

| Wales & Western

Network Rail has begun essential preparations for a brand new fleet of faster, greener and quieter electric trains with the temporary closure of a Newport City Centre road bridge, to make headroom for the new trains.

Bridge Street road bridge, Newport, is now closed to road traffic and pedestrians until December when a brand new bridge will be opened in its place. The new bridge will be fit for modern day city centre traffic and will be more accessible for pedestrians and cyclists.

The arrival of the new trains will provide faster, greener, quieter and more reliable journeys for passengers every day across the South Wales Mainline as well as helping to stimulate economic growth by better connecting towns and cities in South Wales and beyond.

Network Rail has worked closely with Newport City Council on an appropriate diversion route to minimise disruption to those who use the bridge. A diversionary route will be in place for vehicles for the duration of the upgrade work and pedestrians can use the neighbouring Tunnel Terrace footbridge.

In early April, work commenced to divert utilities such as electricity and gas which are currently buried in the existing bridge. One by one, each of these services will be diverted to the temporary structure, which was installed beside the road bridge last month.

Demolition of the old bridge will begin in early July and carry on throughout August and September. The new bridge deck will be lifted in by crane in September. Work will then focus on building a new road over the bridge and re-diverting the utilities back in to the new road. The road is scheduled to reopen in December.

Andrew Griffiths, programme manager for Network Rail said: “Electrifying the railway is part of our Railway Upgrade Plan and it will mean better air quality and quieter surroundings for those who live close to the railway in and around Newport. The increasing number of passengers using the railway will also benefit from faster, quieter, more reliable services. We would like to thank the public in advance for their understanding while this essential work is completed.”

The current single-span steel truss structure will be replaced with a new deck with a weathered steel main structure, complete with wider pavements for ease of pedestrian access, resulting in an entirely new-look bridge.

Further information is available at www.networkrail.co.uk/newport.

 

Notes to editors:

The Railway Upgrade Plan is part of Network Rail’s £40bn spending plan for Britain’s railways for the five year period up to 31 March 2019. This is designed to provide more capacity, relieve crowding and respond to tremendous growth the railways have seen – a doubling of passengers in the past twenty years. The plan will deliver a bigger, better railway with more trains, longer trains, faster trains with more infrastructure, more reliable infrastructure and better facilities for passengers, especially at stations.