EXTENDED RAILWAY BRIDGE CLOSURE AT BECCLES

Friday 17 Dec 2004

EXTENDED RAILWAY BRIDGE CLOSURE AT BECCLES

Region & Route:: | Southern

St George’s Road railway bridge in Beccles, Suffolk, has been closed since October for a £400,000 programme of structural work, to improve the reliability of the bridge for road and rail users in the area. The work was initially scheduled to be completed on Sunday 19 December. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, additional work will be needed and the closure will be extended for a further seven weeks until Sunday 6 February 2004. Jon Wiseman, Network Rail Route Director, said: “We apologise to road users for any inconvenience the extended closure may cause. Network Rail is committed to making sure Britain’s rail network, including bridges like this one in Beccles, is safe and reliable. This will bring long-term benefits to people using the roads and railway in this part of Suffolk.” St George’s Road will be closed to traffic during the remaining work, which has been planned in close partnership with Suffolk County Council. Vehicles will continue to be diverted via the level crossing on Ingate (see map below for details) and alternative routes will be clearly signposted. Pedestrian access will be maintained throughout this period. Network Rail has been in close contact with local residents to provide details of the extended work, which will ensure the 150-year-old bridge conforms to the latest European safety standards.

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We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

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