Morgan Sindall has installed a new railway bridge as part of the Crewe Green link road project it is carrying out on behalf of Cheshire East Council.
Weighing in at 2,000 tonnes, the 30-metre bridge on the Crewe to Derby railway line was carefully moved into place during a 54-hour operation over the Easter weekend and was the culmination of three months of construction.
The bridge installation is a key milestone in the construction of the 0.7-mile road which, once complete, will run between the A500 Hough-Shavington bypass and the A5020 – creating an alternate bypass for Crewe and improving access to the A500 and M6.
Gary Crisp, highways director at Morgan Sindall, said: “The bridge will allow the new road to pass underneath the railway line and installation was meticulously planned to coincide with a weekend rail possession.
“Time was of the essence, but our previous experience on similarly challenging projects and collaborative working with our customer and other key stakeholders helped to ensure that we were able to complete the works by 4am, ready for the first train of Easter Monday at 6.45am.”
Caroline Simpson, executive director of economic growth and prosperity at Cheshire East Council, added: “This was a very complex operation and required all hands to the pump. Our contractor Morgan Sindall did an excellent job in ensuring this key stage in the project was completed successfully and on time.
“The council is pleased that work is progressing well on the road and, once complete, it will allow traffic to move around Crewe rather than directly through the town centre and Nantwich Road.”
Work on Crewe Green Link Road started at the end of August 2014 and is due to be completed by the end of this year.
