Media centre

Wednesday 10 Feb 2010

ROAD BRIDGE CLOSES FOR MAJOR UPGRADE

Region & Route:

Work has started on a £1.1m joint project between Network Rail and Sefton Council to strengthen the road-over-rail bridge on St Lukes Road in Southport.

The bridge is a three-span structure carrying the A5267 at a skewed angle over the Southport to Wigan railway line.

This is a major route on the east side of Southport that carries nearly 19,000 vehicles per day, of which just over 450 are HGVs.

The bridge has been assessed as part of a programme looking at all 1,000 road-over-rail bridges in the North West to determine whether they meet current vehicle weight loading criteria. Such bridges have to be capable of carrying HGVs weighing up to 40 tonnes.

Network Rail’s route director Jo Kaye, said: “The structure is not unsafe. It simply means that as standards are updated, some structures need to be either strengthened or demolished and rebuilt with modern materials to bring them up to date.”

If the work is not carried out, it will mean a permanent weight restriction will have to be imposed by the highway authority. This would restrict the movement of HGVs over the bridge but could also mean that buses and some emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire & rescue vehicles may not be able to use it.

The existing bridge deck on one span will be demolished and replaced using pre-cast beams.; an additional supporting pier will be constructed between the railway tracks to effectively split the main span into two smaller spans; work will be carried out underneath the footpaths to strengthen them to be able to withstand an accidental mounting of the pavement by an HGV.

To carry out the work, St Lukes Road will be closed until mid-April, and local diversions have been put in place. A temporary pedestrian footbridge is in position adjacent to the existing bridge.

The cost of the work is being split, with Sefton council providing 85% of the funds and Network Rail paying the remaining 15%. The work is being carried out by Network Rail’s contractor J Murphy & Sons.