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Friday 28 Aug 2015

Major refurbishment for historic Castlecary Viaduct

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Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

An £800,000 renovation programme is about to begin at Castlecary Viaduct, which carries the main Edinburgh-Glasgow line over the M80.

Over the next two months, engineers will be working both inside and suspended from the 10 arches of the landmark viaduct, near Cumbernauld, as they undertake essential repairs to the stone and steelwork.

In addition to repairs to the brick work and concrete supports, all metal elements within the structure will be cleaned, repaired and coated to protect them from the elements and pollutants from the high volume of traffic travelling under the viaduct every day.

The project will also improve permanent access throughout the listed Victorian structure by installing a series of stairs, walkways and platforms within voids and ground-level entry points to both sections within each span. This will make future inspection and maintenance of the arches more efficient in the future.

The renovation programme, which begins on August 31, is being delivered alongside further enhancement of the structure as part of the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP).

EGIP will see the main Edinburgh-Glasgow line electrified by 2016, and this autumn engineer will be working to install new infrastructure on the viaduct to carry electric power cables over the structure.

Electrification of the line, which is part of £742m Scottish Government-funded investment in Central Scotland’s rail network, will see the introduction of quicker, quieter and greener electric trains on the route.

Owen Ferry, project manager for Network Rail, said “Working on the viaduct represents an unusual engineering challenge in that it is both working at height and in confined spaces where there are deep voids which represent different hazards.

“We rely on experienced specialist engineers to make sure this work is delivered safely and to a high standard. Given their experience working across similar structures, we are confident that they will fully meet this challenge.

“As Castlecary Viaduct is listed, we are working with the relevant local authorities to make sure the work is planned and delivered sympathetically with minimal impact on this superb Victorian structure and minimal disruption for local residents and motorists.”

Network Rail has worked with the local planning authority to agree the programme of work and appropriate road closures. Additionally, a range of environmental and ecological surveys have been carried out, including investigations for bats and nesting birds.

As the teams are working at height, designated exclusion zones are required at the base of the structure during work.

As several of the viaduct’s spans sit above the busy M80, this has created the need for some overnight lane and road closures and other traffic management measures:

The majority of work on the structure will be carried out during nightshift between the hours of 20:00 and 06:00, unless otherwise stated below. During full closures of the road, motorists should exit the M80 at Haggs divert through Kilsyth and rejoin at Auchenkilins.  

• M80 Southbound – Inside land & Emergency Lane & B816 & Northbound Emergency Lane closure – 9pm on 28th August to 5.30am 31st August 2015
• Castlecary Road – Traffic light Control - 7th to 18th September 2015
• M80 North Bound Emergency lane Closure – 14th to 18th September 2015
• M80 North Bound Full Closure – 16th & 17th September 2015
• M80 North Bound Lane 1 Closure – 18th & 19th September 2015
• M80 North & South Bound Lane 2 Closure – 28th & 29th September 2015
• M80 South Bound Lane 1 Closure – 30th September & 1st October 2015
• M80 South Bound Full Closure – 2nd & 3rd October 2015
• M80 South Bound Emergency lane Closure – 5th to 9th October 2015
• Castlecary East Private Road – Traffic Light Control – 12th to 16th October 2015
• M80 Southbound road closure - 9pm on 31st Oct to 5.30am on 1st Nov
• B816 & M80 Northbound emergency lane closure – 9pm 7th Nov to 5.30am on 8th Nov

The work is being undertaken by contractors AMCO on behalf of Network Rail. For further information and updates follow us on twitter @NetworkRailScot