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Thursday 11 Sep 2025

The road ahead: what’s next for the Greek Street railway bridge rebuild?

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North West & Central: North West

| North West & Central

After the successful installation of a £20m bridge over the West Coast Main Line in Stockport this summer, passengers and local people are being advised about what’s next for the transformative project for road and rail.

Network Rail and its contractor partner Murphy replaced the Greek Street bridge during a 21-day closure of the railway in August.

It saw 200 old concrete beams on the former 67-year-old structure removed using two giant crawler cranes with a combined capacity of 1,300 tonnes. Then, the new bridge parts* were inched into position across a 60m gap above the tracks, and a concrete deck was poured on top.

Replacing the huge structure is vital to keep road users and trains moving safely - with the modern structure’s lifespan at an estimated 120 years.

​Today (11 September)​, details on the next steps for the project this autumn and winter have been revealed ahead of the roundabout that sits on top of the bridge opening next spring (2026).

Over the coming months it will see some further railway closures to improve both rail and road travel on this key junction for traffic and trains in the centre of the town.

On Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 October 2025, the railway will close through Stockport for the weekend to allow the project team to continue the work underneath the new bridge.

Engineers will be removing the now redundant wall in the centre of the tracks and starting work to reinstate the road and walls on the roundabout which sits on top of the bridge.

Passengers travelling between Stoke-on-Trent and Manchester are advised to plan their journey on the first weekend of October, as there will be rail replacement buses in operation.

William Brandon, Network Rail’s project manager, said: “I am immensely proud of the team, who worked so hard to deliver this once-in-a-lifetime project over the summer. I am very grateful to the local community and passengers for their ongoing patience and understanding during the work.

“Though the reconstruction of the bridge is complete, there is still more work to do. To safely install parts of the new  roundabout, we need to close the railway again for two days. After that, we will begin to work with utility companies to redivert their services though the bridge, before relaying the road ready for people to use again.”

Stephen Harnett, Murphy’s project manager, said: “The project is progressing well thanks to the concerted team effort from all parties – thank you to the local community for their patience whilst we continue the upgrade works.”

Lisa Magee, Avanti West Coast station manager at Stockport, said: “We’d like to thank our customers for their continued patience and understanding while Network Rail carried out these once-in-a-generation works at Stockport last month which will provide safe and reliable journeys for decades. To enable the next phase of the Greek Street bridge project to be completed, the West Coast Main Line through Stockport will be closed again for two days, so those making journeys on 4 or 5 October are strongly advised to plan ahead, check the National Rail website before travelling, and leave plenty of time.”     

Cllr Grace Baynham, cabinet member for Parks, Highways and Transport Services at Stockport Council, said: "I want to thank our residents and local businesses for their patience over the three weeks while the bridge was installed.

"It’s great to see the project running on time thanks to the hard work of the team from Network Rail and Murphy.

"Edgeley is very much open for business throughout these works, and we’ll keep working closely together as the final stages continue above ground and the roundabout is reinstated by March next year."

Following the weekend work in October, the railway through Stockport will remain open until Christmas Day and Boxing Day, where engineers will make the most of the closed railway to carry out more work to the bridge.

Once utility services are diverted back from their temporary scaffold bridge into the new structure, the road can be relayed, and the roundabout will reopen in Spring.

To find out more about the project, visit: www.networkrail.co.uk/greekstreet