Glasgow road to close for a year for bridge works

Thursday 22 Jun 2023

Glasgow road to close for a year for bridge works

Region & Route:: Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Shields Road on the south side of Glasgow will close to traffic for a year to enable the demolition and rebuilding of the bridge over the railway.

The bridge has been subject to weight restrictions for more than 20 years, and the work will be undertaken by Network Rail and Glasgow City Council.

When complete, in summer 2024, the bridge will be stronger, wider and better able to handle the size and volume of traffic that needs to travel over it.

From August, work will see the diversion of a range of utilities that cross the structure followed by demolition of the existing bridge deck and repairs to bridge abutments. Utilities will then be reconnected over the bridge ahead of it fully reopening in summer 2024.

During the 12-month period, Shields Road will close to all vehicles between St Andrew’s Drive and Scotland Street. Pedestrian access (and access for cyclists who dismount) will be maintained throughout via a temporary bridge which will be installed early in the project.

In advance of the work, there will be a public drop-in from 4-7pm on Tuesday July 4 at Pollokshields Community Centre on Kenmure Street. Members of the community will have the chance to meet the project team and find out more about the work programme.

Jeremy Spence, Network Rail’s senior programme manager for the Shields Road bridge project, said: “There is never an ideal time to close such a significant part of the road network and we understand the impact that this will have on those who use Shields Road and those living on the proposed diversion route.

“Delivery of this project has been carefully planned with our contractors and with Glasgow City Council, and the programme will be delivered with the minimum possible inconvenience for the local community.

“We thank everyone in advance for their patience during this work”.

Notes to Editors

The demolition and reconstruction of the bridge over the railway at Shields Road will take place from August 2023 and will take approximately 12 months.

Although the physical work to demolish and reconstruct the bridge does not take 12 months, there is a prolonged period required to initially divert and then reinstate the various utilities which run through the structure. This work is essential to maintain supply of water, electricity, gas, broadband etc to the local community and time has to be factored into the programme to ensure this can happen.

As well as removing the weight restriction from the road network, the project is part of a wider, rolling programme of maintenance work on railway structures to extend their lifespan and keep the rail network safe and reliable for passengers and freight customers.

This work will renew the road bridge that carries Shields Road over the lines from Glasgow Central to Ayrshire and Inverclyde.

There is no disruption to the rail network from this work initially. However, the demolition and initial reconstruction of the bridge will see weekend closure of the line in 2024. Dates for this will be confirmed closer to the time.

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