Giant arches strike right £85m Chord
600-TONNE STEEL ARCHES ARE MOVED INTO POSITION BY GIANT CRANES IN MOMENTOUS FEAT OF ENGINEERING
IT was a moment George Stephenson, Manchester’s father of railways, would have been proud of.
Two of Europe’s biggest cranes lowered 600-tonne steel arches into place forming the centrepiece of the Ordsall Chord to link Piccadilly and Victoria stations.
Transforming the Greater Manchester skyline, the momentous feat of engineering is key not only to Manchester’s railway history – but for travel across the north.
In September 1830 Stephenson opened the Liverpool-Manchester line, which ran adjacent to where the arches have been placed.
Sitting at the heart of this site, Stephenson’s Bridge has been cleaned and renovated to become a key landmark once again.
For Network Rail, it’s also a major milestone in the Great North Rail Project, part of £1bn upgrade plan.
The £85m Ordsall Chord – 300m of new track to be ready to carry passengers in December – is aimed at slashing railway congestion, allowing for faster trains and more frequent services.
It will enable new direct links to Manchester Airport from Rochdale and Bradford and trains will run direct from Cheshire and south Manchester.
The arches were manufactured by Severfield near Bolton, who in all have supplied more than 3,500 tonnes of steel for the project.
The bigger crane, a 1,350 tonne capacity crawler, was constructed at the work site after its component parts were delivered by 35 wagons.
The ‘network arch,’ the first of its kind in the world, was designed in a ‘squashed tennis racket’ shape by Peter Jenkins, architect at BDP. Yet to be built is the ‘swoosh’ - a twisting and folding piece of steel to join the arch across Trinity Way.
Peter said: “The swoosh is really the finishing piece to all this. It’s great to see the arch in there today but the swoosh will connect across Trinity Way to create this single form.
“The intention was always to create a unique structure to sit alongside the first railway bridge in the world – and this is another world first.”
And his vision is more than just a bridge. A piazza and walkways will transform this area into a public space, with shops and wine bars planned for beneath the old arches preserved on site. In all, there will be 7,000sqm of public spaces and 2,000sqm of Yorkstone-paved pedestrian routes.
Allan Parker, programme manager from Network Rail, said the day took a lot of planning, adding: “The sight of the arches elevated over the River Irwell was very special and will live long in my memory.”