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Monday 10 Dec 2012

Historic viaduct to be waterproofed at Christmas

Region & Route:

Milverton Viaduct, which carries the railway line from Coventry through Leamington Spa town centre, is to be refurbished during the Christmas holidays.

Built in 1844, the 16-span masonry and brick arch viaduct takes the railway over the River Leam, across public footpaths and it straddles a roundabout at the junction of Princes Drive and Park Drive.

As part of the £1.5m project, Network Rail will remove the track and install pre-cast concrete sections to construct a saddle over the arches for the entire length of the viaduct. This will then be waterproofed to prevent any further damage caused by water seeping into the brickwork.

At the same time, new drainage channels and down pipes will take the surface water away from the viaduct.

Work will start at 8 pm on Christmas Eve and continue until 9 am on Sunday 30 December.

During the work, train services will be diverted away from the viaduct and replacement road transport will operate between Leamington Spa, Coventry and Birmingham International. Passengers are advised to check their travel plans with their train operator or online at www.nationalrail.co.uk

The work will not affect roads in and around the viaduct.

In the run up to the Christmas work, Network Rail will remove any vegetation growing on and around the structure, and carry out brick and stonework repairs before re-pointing the joints.

Pattress plates, which are the large metal plates seen on the outside of the viaduct, will also be repainted and missing plates will be replaced. The plates are effectively the washers on the ends of strengthening rods that keep the viaduct in shape.