Media centre

Friday 7 Dec 2007

RAIL BRIDGES TO BE STRENGTHENED IN NEW YEAR

Region & Route:

Network Rail and Sefton Council are investing £500,000 in two projects to strengthen the bridges that carry South Road and Mersey Road over the railway line close to Waterloo and Blundellsands & Crosby stations. Work is due to start in the New Year and will be completed by mid-April. The work is being carried out as part of a national programme to assess approximately 10,000 road-over-rail bridges throughout the UK to ensure they meet current standards in line with EU regulations. Tony Wilcock, Network Rail’s Territory Civil Engineer explained: “The bridges have failed their assessments so they need to be strengthened. That does not mean they are in danger of collapse but it does mean that if we do not carry out the work, there may have to be permanent restrictions placed on them. That in turn could mean only light vehicles would be able to use the bridges, and would exclude buses and emergency service vehicles such as ambulances and fire appliances.” To be able to carry out the work on South Road, temporary traffic lights and single lane working will be introduced from 7 January for approximately four weeks. Once the South Road work is completed, Network Rail will begin the work on the Mersey Road bridge. This will mean the full closure of a short section of Mersey Road for a number of weeks and Network Rail is talking to Sefton Council to agree precise dates. Once the necessary arrangements have been made, details of the diversionary route will be made available but it is thought this is likely to be via Brooke Road. Train services on Merseyrail’s Northern Line will also be affected for a number of Sundays and passengers should contact National Rail Enquiries on 08457 48 49 50 or www.nationalrail.co.uk nearer the time for further information.