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Monday 23 May 2016

£1.7m Crewe road and rail bridge refurbishment completed three weeks early

Region & Route:

| North West & Central

A £1.7m refurbishment of a major road and railway bridge in Crewe has been completed three weeks ahead of schedule.

Network Rail completed the improvements to the Hungerford Road bridge on Sunday 22 May, finishing the essential work which started in December last year.

The investment is part of Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan which is delivering a better, more reliable railway for more than four million passengers who travel by train each day.

The upgrade included strengthening work, which involved rebuilding part of the bridge on the southern side of the structure, including a new parapet wall and installing new barriers and kerbs.  The road and railway - for the most part – remained open throughout.

Mark Ashton, scheme project manager at Network Rail said: “This upgrade represents a significant investment in the railway in Crewe which will help to protect the Hungerford Road bridge for many decades to come, resulting in less maintenance and therefore more reliable train services for passengers.

“The refurbishment of the bridge forms part of our Railway Upgrade Plan to provide a better, more reliable railway and I’d like to thank the people and businesses of Crewe for their patience while we carried out this essential and safety-critical work.”

Councillor David Brown, cabinet member for highways said: “We are pleased that this work has now been completed and ahead of schedule.
 
“We would also like to thank the people of Crewe for their patience and understanding.
 
“This was a challenging project for Network Rail and they appear to have completed the project successfully and well ahead of the projected completion date.”

Network Rail and its contractors Murphy worked closely with Cheshire East Council, Cheshire Police, local businesses and community representatives throughout to minimise any impact the essential work had on the local community.

The work was part of a wider £17m improvement programme to Network Rail structures including two viaducts and four bridges between Crewe and Manchester, and Sandbach and Northwich.