Wednesday 30 Jun 2021
Merseyside residents informed about railway bridge upgrade
- Region & Route:
- North West & Central
Road users and residents in St Helens are being informed about a major railway bridge upgrade this summer.
The £545k Great North Rail Project investment will see the railway bridge spanning Islands Brow refurbished and strengthened so it remains safe and reliable for decades to come.
To safely complete the work, a full road closure will be in place on Islands Brow beneath the bridge from Monday 26 July until Monday 16 August 2021.
Calum Gardner, scheme project manager for Network Rail, said: “We’re carrying out essential work to strengthen Islands Brow railway bridge as part of the Great North Rail Project to help keep the railway running reliably for passengers and freight trains.
“The improvements will also keep the road beneath the railway safe for road users for years to come and I’d like to thank motorists and local people for their patience during the road closure.”
Councillor Andy Bowden, St Helens Borough Council’s cabinet member for environment and transport, said: “This is essential work which is necessary for the safety of rail passengers and motorists alike – and while we appreciate the inconvenience it may cause, council officers have worked closely with Network Rail to minimise disruption, with Network Rail committing to keeping the community updated as things progress.”
Work to refurbish the bridge will take place during a combination of day and night-time shifts.
Network Rail has written to local people and to help reduce disruption to road users has worked with St Helens Council to align the road closure to local schools holidays.
For more on how we maintain railway structures visit: www.networkrail.co.uk/bridges-tunnels-and-viaducts/
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Network Rail press office - North West & Central Region
07740 782954
NWCmediarelations@networkrail.co.uk
About Network Rail
We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
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