Media centre

Monday 10 Dec 2007

WHITE BRIDGE REOPENS TO ROAD VEHICLES

Region & Route:

A £1.6 million project by Network Rail to strengthen the road-over-rail bridge on King Street, Dukinfield was completed at the weekend and the road reopened to traffic following a 12 week closure. Known as The White Bridge, work was carried out after the bridge failed an assessment to bring it up to current standards. Two of the bridges five spans had to be completely rebuilt, two had to be strengthened by filling them in and one had to be refurbished. Network Rail's territory civil engineer Tony Wilcock said: “I am glad the work has been completed on time because it means life can return to normal for the people who use it. "It was unfortunate the road had to be closed but if we had not done the work it could have meant a permanent weight restriction being imposed that might have an impact on buses, the emergency services and the public." The road will close again overnight on Saturday until teatime on Sunday this coming weekend so the temporary footbridge can be removed. During the demolition and reconstruction phases, Network Rail used a 500 tonnes crane to lift out sections of the old bridge and lower the new one into position. Approximately 10,000 road-over-rail bridges nationwide are being assessed now that 40 and 44 tonnes lorries are permitted on Britain's roads under EU regulations. Any bridges that do not meet the latest criteria will either be strengthened or, if necessary, completely rebuilt.