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Thursday 28 Jan 2016

Manchester ring road speed restrictions to be introduced as vital Ordsall Chord work progresses

Region & Route:

| North West & Central

Network Rail will start excavation work next week as it continues to build the vital new Ordsall Chord between Manchester Victoria and Piccadilly stations – but it will mean speed restrictions and traffic measures on the Manchester ring road at Trinity Way.

From Monday 1 February 2016, work will start between Trinity Way and the River Irwell as the foundations for the Chord are built.

The work has been planned to cause the least disruption to motorists and all four lanes of Trinity Way will remain open but will be narrowed with a 20mph speed restriction  in place for safety reasons.  

The Ordsall Chord is being built as part of Network Rail’s £1bn+ investment in the railway in the north of England which will deliver a more reliable, faster and efficient railway to the millions of passengers who travel by train every year. Work is due to be complete by December 2017.

Nick Spall, route delivery director for Network Rail, said: “This work is absolutely vital as we start to build the new viaduct. We have been planning it alongside Manchester City Council, Salford City Council and Transport for Greater Manchester and have done all we can to keep disruption to motorists to a minimum. 

“The road will remain open as much as possible but to allow cranes and equipment to be moved safely across Trinity Way, there may be a need for overnight closures but motorists will be given advanced warning.

“The creation of the Ordsall Chord will bring many benefits to the city and the north of England.  Not only will it link the major stations within Manchester but will help support delivery of faster trains linking Manchester Victoria and Liverpool as well as improving journey times to Liverpool, Leeds and the north east.

“Investment like this is vital so not only transport links are vastly improved but local and regional economies receive boosts which help create more jobs and lead to wider investment and regeneration.”

Councillor Andrew Fender, chair of Transport for Greater Manchester, said: “The Ordsall Chord project – which will incorporate a major redevelopment of Salford Central – is a significant programme of works that, along with the rest of the North of England Programme, will revolutionise rail travel throughout our region.

“I want to reassure commuters and local residents that TfGM has been – and will continue – to work closely with Network Rail and Manchester and Salford City Council to minimise disruption along Trinity Way and surrounding areas, and maintaining four lanes to traffic for the duration of the project should go some way to ensuring that.”

Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, said: "The Ordsall Chord is a vital part of the Northern Hub, which will bring significant improvements to rail services across the north west, including Manchester itself, providing extra capacity to support thousands of additional freight journeys and enabling millions more passengers to travel across the region each day. It will provide a huge boost to the economy of the city, helping to drive growth across the wider region and indeed the whole of northern England."

Salford City Mayor Ian Stewart said:  “These improvement works will have a positive impact nationally as journey times to and from Greater Manchester will be faster, with more frequent trains. It is exactly what we need to support our thriving northern powerhouse.”

For further information about the North of England Programme visit www.networkrail.co.uk/improvements/northern-hub or contact Network Rail’s national helpline on 03457 114 141.