Key milestone reached for Great Central reunification project
Green light for work to start on new bridge for ‘missing link’ northwards.
THE next phase of reunification of the Great Central Railway (GCR) Loughborough with the northern section which leads to Ruddington, Nottinghamshire, took a major step forward in early April after the line’s plc Board gave approval for work to start with immediate effect on the replacement of Bridge 326 crossing the A60 adjacent to the former Brush Works in Loughborough.
A purchase order has been placed with VolkerLaser, the preferred main contractors. Fabrication of the two new steel and concrete U decks will begin as soon as the final design work is completed by HBPW Consulting of Retford and the steel, which has already been design-specified, arrives at the fabricators, Carver Steel in Harworth, Doncaster. Volker is due to demolish the old bridge deck and install the new twin decks from October 1, as well as making good the existing bridge abutments.
This will enable both the track to the Midland Main Line chord and the future line from GCR south to pass over the newlyconstructed bridge. Two tracks over the bridge are essential to secure a future connection with the main line.
Scope
Investigations into a possible repair to the deck, which is in excess of 120 years old, found that too much original section had been lost to corrosion and thus replacement proved to be the only financially viable option.
This major project will cost in excess of £1 million in total and is projected to complete at the end of October this year. The bridge replacement will be funded by supporters and the GCR’s charitable trust and will therefore be cost-neutral to the plc.
Michael Gough, GCR managing director, said: “This project represents another major step in the drive for reunification of the two GCR sections and in the return of the currentlydisused northern section of line back to traffic. This structure is certainly life-expired. We are pleased once again to be able to work with members of the team at Volker who have proven to be trusted partners on two previous bridge projects for the railway that have both gone incredibly well.
Specification
“With only 4.3 metres from the underside of the deck to the road, the old bridge has frequently ‘seen action’ in terms of bridge strikes from high-sided vehicles trying to pass underneath and we are designing the new structure to achieve maximum additional headroom as well as building collision protection measures into the new structure.”
Visit www.gcrailway.co.uk/ unify/ for details of how you can help.