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Friday 5 Jun 2015

Broughton Road in Salford to reopen one month ahead of schedule

Region & Route:

Broughton Road bridge in Salford is to reopen to traffic one month early after being rebuilt by Network Rail as part of a £1bn investment to improve the railway in the north of England.

The bridge was closed to traffic on 24 November 2014 before being reopened to traffic over the Christmas period and closing again on 5 January 2015. The rebuild is required to accommodate overhead lines underneath as part of the electrification of the railway through the area.

It will reopen to traffic and pedestrians on 15 June, a month ahead of the original 16 July completion date.

John Johnson, project manager for Network Rail, said: “Reopening this road a month early will be welcome news to local businesses, motorists and residents. The bridge replacement was an essential part of our work to electrify the railway which will help to provide a better service to passengers across the north west of England.

“The hard work and professionalism of everyone involved has enabled the work to be completed safely and quickly, allowing the local road network to return to normal ahead of schedule. There is never a good time to close roads but we did all we could to minimise disruption as much as possible. We thank local people for their patience while we completed this essential upgrade.”

The new bridge will not need any major work for over 100 years, providing additional benefits to the local road and rail network. Electrification of the railway will provide faster and more frequent services, with more seats for passengers, and help support economic growth across the north west of England.

Oldfield Road in Salford, where a bridge has also been rebuilt as part of the electrification programme, will also reopen on 8 June.