(Railfanning.org News Wire) — Network Rail is investing £5 million to replace the railway bridge over Agbrigg Road in Wakefield with a more reliable structure designed to serve passengers and freight for more than a century.
The major project will see the existing bridge, located next to Sandal & Agbrigg station, demolished and replaced with a completely new structure during the Christmas period.
The bridge carries the railway over Agbrigg Road on a vital route between Doncaster and Leeds. The existing structure’s main steel girders are structurally substandard, meaning a weight restriction and close monitoring are in place.
Replacing it will allow those measures to be removed and provide a stronger, more reliable structure with a 120-year design life. The new bridge will also better withstand strikes from road vehicles, helping reduce the risk of disruption to both the railway and Agbrigg Road.
Preparatory work is underway, and the new bridge will be constructed in advance of installation at the work compound near the station. The main bridge replacement activity will take place while no trains are running, from the early hours of Christmas Eve to 8 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 27.
Engineers will remove the railway tracks and ballast above the bridge, then use a 50-ton demolition excavator to remove the old structure. The replacement bridge deck will arrive in two sections, after which engineers will install waterproofing and drainage and reinstate the railway on top.
Be the first to comment