VIDEO | Demolition of Cumbria’s Clifton Bridge
Principal contractor Skanska razed the 130-metre-long West Coast Main Line railway bridge this past weekend, the first phase of Network Rail’s £60m project that will see a replacement structure erected by the end of 15 January.
Network Rail has released time-lapse footage of eight hours of the demolition of Clifton Bridge, which sat over six lanes of the M6 near Penrith. You can see the footage at the top of this article.
Clifton Bridge had been built in the 1960s and no longer met modern standards, according to Network Rail. Replacing it will lead to fewer disruptions and safer journeys, the organisation said.
Clifton Bridge’s replacement, a 4,200-tonne steel and concrete structure, will be brought in next weekend.
“It’s been an incredible effort by the entire team to complete the demolition of the former Clifton Bridge, working 24/7 across the weekend to make sure that the M6 motorway could re-open on Monday morning,” said Skanska UK rail programme director Rosario Barcena.
“Technically it was a complex operation which we managed with great precision and care. The works were completed safely, with the support structures that the new 4,200 tonne bridge will sit on successfully retained.”
The replacement of Clifton Bridge is part of Network Rail’s £400m, four-year improvement package for the West Coast Main Line. Other works include £61m of signal upgrades by Carlisle, a £6m signalling gantries replacement at Preston Station, and a £26m improvement to Hanslope Junction by Milton Keynes.
