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Friday 27 Feb 2009

HALE ROAD BRIDGE TO BE STRENGTHENED

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Work costing £650,000 starts next week (2 March) on Hale Road, Ditton to bring it up to strength so that it meets current safety standards.

The bridge, which carries the road over the west coast main line at the former Ditton railway station, has been assessed by Network Rail as part of the Bridgeguard 3 programme, which is looking at nearly 1,000 bridges in the North West to ensure they are suitable to carry commercial road vehicles permitted on Britain’s roads under EU legislation.

Tony Wilcock, Network Rail’s Territory Civil Engineer said: “This is part of a massive programme which is being conducted nationally over the next few years. We couldn’t do it without the considerable help and cooperation of the local authorities involved. When the work is finished, this bridge will be fit for purpose for many years to come.”

The majority of the work is being funded by Network Rail with a contribution from Halton Borough council, and involves the strengthening of the bridge by casting reinforced concrete around the piers at railway level, making them into solid walls.

Concrete strength testing will be carried out at road level to confirm the strength of the existing structure.

While the strengthening work is being carried out, temporary lights will control traffic over the bridge between the hours of 7 pm and 6 am for a period of about eight weeks.