Cambrian river bridge is lifted out of flood zone
A BRIDGE on the Cambrian line, prone to flooding, has been lifted by a metre in an innovative £3.6 million project undertaken by Network Rail contractors AmcoGiffen.
Black Bridge spans the River Dulas and lies just under mile east of Machynlleth. It has been closed 30 times in the last decade, 10 times in 2020 alone, for emergency repairs caused by flood water.
A total of 360 engineers clocked up more than 32,000 hours to deliver the project in six weeks, with the line reopening on June 28.
To ensure the 80-tonne bridge did not twist or buckle during the lift, engineers opted to use a block and chain method.
Eight 20-tonne chains were used in total, and for every 10 metres of chain pulled, the bridge was raised just 10mm.
Because the River Dulas is fish-spawning, there was a limited window to complete the project.