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Thursday 6 Apr 2023

Keeping track: progress update on Broxbourne bridge replacement

Region & Route:

Eastern: Anglia

Network Rail’s bridge replacement project in Broxbourne is moving closer to completion.

The Nazeing New Road bridge sits over the main line between London, Hertfordshire, Essex and Cambridgeshire. It needed to be fully replaced to keep everyone safe as the old structure had reached the end of its useful life.

The new bridge is designed to serve road users and rail passengers for 120 years.

Major work began in early January, requiring the road over the bridge to be closed. A diversion route for all motorists, pedestrians and cyclists remains in place.

Later in January, trains couldn’t run under the bridge for six days while the road was dug out, the old bridge lifted away and the new structure put in.

Since then, significant progress has been made. Engineers from Network Rail’s contractor, J Murphy & Sons, have been:

• pouring, curing and waterproofing the new concrete bridge deck
• strengthening the stretches of the bridge that were not fully replaced, helping to avoid the need for additional significant work in future
• cleaning and painting the stretches of the bridge that were not fully replaced
• enabling the reinstallation of gas, electricity and telecoms connections across the bridge

Further strengthening work is ongoing, with the bridge deck, road surface and pavement also due to be completed over the coming weeks.

Network Rail remains on target to reopen the bridge on Sunday 30 April. However, the complexity of the project means the programme is tight and unforeseen circumstances such as bad weather could mean it’s delayed by up to a week. Engineers are confident that the road will be re-opened by Sunday 7 May at the latest.

Simon Milburn, Network Rail’s infrastructure director for Anglia, said: “We’ve been making the very most of the road closure to deliver a replacement bridge that will serve Broxbourne and the railway for many decades to come. We’re really sorry for the impact on residents and road users, but not doing this work could have led to a prolonged short-notice closure that may have been even more disruptive.

“I’d also like to thank Greater Anglia passengers again for bearing with us while train services were affected for six straight days in January. We know this caused inconvenience for people on their journeys but the new bridge is vital for the future safe and reliable running of the line”.