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Thursday 26 Jul 2018

Road bridge reopens early after Network Rail complete £4million upgrade in Bedford

Region & Route:

| Eastern

Network Rail has reopened Ford End Road Bridge in Bedford today, (Thursday, 26 July) after it was successfully upgraded as part of the Midland Main Line Upgrade.

The bridge has been closed to motorists since February to allow a section of it to be raised to provide a safe distance between the bridge and newly installed overhead line equipment, which will be used to power electric trains on the route.

The road bridge was scheduled to reopen on Tuesday, 31 July but the upgrade has completed five days ahead of schedule which has allowed the bridge to reopen earlier than planned. Pedestrian access across the bridge was maintained throughout the project.

The Midland Main Line Upgrade is the biggest investment into the line since the Victorian era. Once completed, the investment will create capacity to allow more trains to run and more people to travel along the length of the route from Sheffield through Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and into London.

Ed Akers, Principal Programme Sponsor at Network Rail, said: “The upgrade to Ford End Road bridge is a key part of the Midland Main Line Upgrade and we are delighted that this vital work is now complete.

“We know that improving the railway can be disruptive and we have worked closely with stakeholders to keep this to a minimum. We’d like to thank road users for their patience whilst we carried out this work and we are delighted to reopen the road early for motorists.”

Time lapse footage of engineering work taking place on Ford End Road bridge is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r67n0ak-k2M

ENDS