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Wednesday 13 Oct 2021

Barnack Road reopens over two weeks earlier than planned – Network Rail continues with final stages of tunnel repairs

Region & Route:

Eastern

| Eastern: East Midlands

Network Rail has today (Wednesday 13 October) reopened Barnack Road in Stamford – over two weeks ahead of schedule - as engineers continue with the final stages of work to strengthen Stamford Tunnel.

Major work began on the project to repair the steelwork inside the railway tunnel in April to make sure trains can continue using it safely and reliably. These improvements will also reduce future disruption and the amount of maintenance which is required.

The section of Barnack Road which runs over the tunnel was temporarily closed in July to allow the improvements underground to take place safety, and it was expected to reopen on Monday 1 November.

Now the road has reopened, engineers will continue with the final stages of work further along the tunnel and the project is expected to be completed in December. This latest stage of work will not impact on train services or drivers on Barnack Road.

Park Road and Burley Road which were restricted to one-way during the work have also fully reopened.

Gary Walsh, Route Director for Network Rail’s East Midlands route, said: “Our teams have made great progress on this essential work to strengthen Stamford Tunnel and we’re pleased to be able to reopen Barnack Road, which runs over it, earlier than planned.

“We want to thank drivers and people in the community for their continued patience whilst the road closure was in place – and we appreciate most of this work hasn’t been visible for people in the area, with it being inside the tunnel.

“Work is now underway on the final stage of the project which will allow train services to run safely and reliably through Stamford Tunnel for future generations.”

ENDS