Media centre

Thursday 2 Sep 2004

WEST COAST WORK FOR LOCAL BRIDGE

Region & Route:

A 150 year old bridge at Euxton near Preston is scheduled for a £1.5 million makeover as part of the modernisation of the West Coast Main Line.             Under the scheme, the bridge at School Lane, Euxton, will undergo upgrade work to allow the new high speed trains to pass over the structure at 125mph when that section of the London to Glasgow route is opened to the new increased speeds next year.             Though physical work to replace the existing bridge decking will take place during the weekend of 27 November (when that section of the line will be closed to trains, with services diverted/replaced by coach and bus services), preparatory work has already started. This includes the painting of the section of the bridge that will not be replaced, along with brickwork repairs. The project team will then start assembly of the new bridge decking in an adjacent field, helping lessen the impact of the work on the local community.             Commented Programme Director for Network Rail’s West Coast project Tom McCarthy: “This approach will considerably minimise any disruption caused by road closures and other construction work that would have been required had we used more traditional methods, such as the use of a crane or construction above the tracks. Using this methodology, we effectively ‘lift’ the old structure out with a multi-axle transporter and then ‘drive’ the new decking in, before lowering it into position – a far more efficient and effective process.” -more-                                                                                                                         Euxton bridge work - 2 Helping to ensure that the local community is kept fully briefed regarding the project, a special information centre is being held at Euxton Parish Church Community Centre on Friday 10 September from 11am to 7pm, with members of the project team on hand to answer any questions.