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Wednesday 23 Jul 2014

Pupils have winning designs for Selby swing bridge

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One lucky pupil at a Selby primary school will have their artwork publicly displayed on the hoardings around the Selby swing bridge work site after winning a poster design competition.

The winning poster, designed by Wiki Czech at Barlybridge Community Primary School, was revealed to her classmates on Monday (21 July). Wiki came top of a competition run by the school, Network Rail and contractor Kier, who asked pupils to find the most creative way of getting across site safety messages to residents and visitors in Selby.

Wiki was the overall winner, and the winner of the seven to eight years category. Olivia Wiczkowska – Wiki’s classmate – came second. In the nine to ten years category, Katie Ann Herring came first, with Emily Hanks in second place. The first-placed designs won a £25 WHSmith voucher, with £15 vouchers to those in second place. Wiki’s poster has now been designed to sit on the site’s hoardings on Ousegate.

The pupils’ winning designs come just ahead of the main thrust of Network Rail’s £14m investment in the refurbishment of Selby swing bridge, which starts on Saturday, 26 July and will be the most significant improvement made to the bridge since it was built in 1889.

Monday also saw the official opening of the school’s new outdoor learning area, which was installed as a gift by Network Rail and Kier – the principle contractor for the work at the bridge – along with new fencing. This new, covered outdoor classroom will allow the children to learn in the open air.

The project team has also spoken to the schoolchildren about site safety and safety near to the railway, as the major refurbishment to the swing bridge gets underway this week.

Darryl White, Network Rail’s project manager for Selby swing bridge, said: “It is great to be able to give something back to the local community that will make a difference for years to come; not only providing an outdoor learning area but also to support the school with new fencing.

“We were very impressed with the standard of the entries of the poster design competition, and think the winner is a bright and colourful way of helping to remind people to stay safe near to the site.”

Rob Marshall, Kier operations manager, commented: “As businesses, both Kier and Network Rail take our corporate responsibility very seriously, and we always aim to contribute in a positive way to the communities in which we work. It’s very important to us that children living and learning near our construction sites are kept safe, and we felt that the poster competition was a fun way to make sure those safety messages sink in."

The work to Selby swing bridge includes steelwork repairs, replacing and strengthening sections of the bridge and a new coat of paint. Work on the bridge’s hydraulic system will be undertaken and the track which runs across the bridge will be replaced. New walkways and steps for bridge operators are also being installed.

The work is planned to finish in time for normal rail services to resume on Monday, 8 September.

Phil Verster, route managing director for Network Rail, said: “Once these improvements are complete, many parts of the bridge will not need any further work for decades. It will also mean an existing speed restriction on passenger services will be lifted.

“We will have people working on site all day, every day, to get this work finished and have worked hard with train operators to put the best possible alternative travel arrangements in place. We thank passengers, local residents and businesses for their patience while the work is carried out.”

Weight restrictions will also be removed after the work, which will mean freight trains can move more freely along the route. The bridge itself will also look smarter, which will be better for the town.

A spokesperson representing the train operators said: “We are working with Network Rail to minimise the disruption caused by the improvement works at Selby and put in place the best possible journey options for customers.

"Buses will replace a number of rail services and we will shortly be issuing updated timetables and customer information posters.

"We would advise customers to check the details of the travel and allow extra time to complete their journey. Full details of the improvements works and alternative arrangements will be available from National Rail Enquiries."

No trains can run over the bridge from the night of 26 July to start of service (0525) on 8 September. Passengers are advised to check details of their journey with National Rail Enquiries www.nationalrail.co.uk or 08457 48 49 50.

Network Rail’s 24-hour helpline is available for anyone to report any issues with the rail infrastructures on 08457 11 41 41.