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Wednesday 27 Feb 2008

NETWORK RAIL ON A ROLL

Region & Route:

Network Rail together with support services and construction company Carillion (previously Alfred McAlpine) took a major step forward in a £15 million project at Manchester Airport by rolling a new road-over-rail bridge into place two days ahead of schedule and reopening a main road into the airport five days early.

Outwood Lane, which leads to/from Terminals 1 and 3 will open tonight (Wednesday 27 February) instead of on Monday 3 March.

The concrete bridge has been built alongside the existing station at the airport and is a crucial milestone in the programme to build a third platform. This will relieve congestion and improve operational flexibility, leading to better punctuality and reliability of trains.

Peter Strachan, Route Director from Network Rail said: "Completing this section of the project five days early means no more delays to passengers travelling by road to and from the airport. Careful project planning and close liaison between us and our contractor has paid dividends."

Bob Longworth, Capacity Planning Manager at the Airport said: "The third rail platform will play a significant role in the future of Manchester Airport's overall transport infrastructure and this essential work has been carried out speedily and effectively.

"We are very pleased to be able to open the Outwood Lane early causing our passengers the minimum amount of disruption as they travel to and from the airport."

David Cochrane from GMPTE’s Infrastructure Projects added, "This is fantastic news and reflection of how well the project is being managed by the Network Rail team on behalf of the funders and stakeholders."

Outwood Lane at the airport passes over the ends of the station platforms so an additional bridge section had to be constructed to take the road over the new platform.

The new bridge, similar in shape to an upside down letter U, was built using poured concrete, then raised up on a 64-wheeled transporter before being rolled inch by inch into place in the dead of night.

Having successfully completed the roll, the area around the new structure was back-filled, allowing the road to be resurfaced and reopened.