Media centre

Tuesday 5 Jul 2016

Windsor Road Bridge reopens as work to electrify the railway in South Wales progresses

Region & Route:

| Wales & Western: Wales & Borders

| Wales & Western

Windsor Road Bridge has reopened to motorists, pedestrians and cyclists, following the extensive rebuilding of the bridge by Network Rail as part of the project to electrify the South Wales Mainline.

The bridge, which carries the road that connects Adamsdown and Splott in Cardiff, was reopened at midnight on Saturday, July 2.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: “The new bridge has been raised as part of Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan to provide the extra headroom needed for the future electrification of the railway. The old bridge was built more than 100 years ago and was outdated. We have worked hard these last 18 months to install a new bridge that will accommodate the new fleet of electric trains and will also be better able to cope with the demands of modern road and rail traffic. The new bridge also provides improved access for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as better lighting.

“We would like to thank the general public for their patience while we completed this essential upgrade work.”

Network Rail demolished the 1902-built bridge in 2015 and has been working through recent months to replace it with a brand new structure. Innovative construction techniques were used to overcome challenges on the project including installing a lightweight polystyrene-block solution to build the new embankments. Engineers worked carefully to ensure vital utilities – including electricity, gas, fibre-optics and water – buried in the structure were diverted from the old bridge into the new and remained undisrupted.

Electrification of the South Wales Mainline will mean faster, greener and more reliable journeys for the tens of thousands of passengers using the railway, as well as less noise and pollution for those who live close to the railway line.  It will also help stimulate economic growth across the region by better connecting towns and cities in South Wales and beyond.

Work now progresses at another Road Bridge in Splott which also requires reconstruction as part of the electrification work.

Beresford Road Bridge will close to road traffic from July 23 until spring 2017.

The ageing steel road bridge between Beresford Road and Moorland Road – like Windsor - will be replaced with a new and improved structure to accommodate a brand new fleet of electric trains beneath and withstand the modern city centre traffic above.