It’s Telford's bridge of size – part one
It took one of the world’s biggest cranes to lift it into place – and come September the process will start all over again.
Today Telford has a new railway footbridge, although it will be a while before anyone will be allowed to actually cross it.
Works that have seen the town’s A442 closed culminated in an early-hours operation to move the bridge over the dual carriageway and place it carefully over the railway line.
These works only marked part one in an operation that will eventually see the current red footbridge demolished.
In September, workmen will descend on the scene again, re-erect the giant 230ft crane and put a second connected bridge over the A442, creating a new link for commuters between Telford’s train station and the town centre.
About 100 people turned up at the scene to watch the work take place in the early hours of Sunday. Many were self-confessed ‘crane spotters’ eager to see the work take place.
See also:
Councillor Lee Carter, cabinet member with special responsibility for finance, commercial services and economic development, described the lifting of the bridge as a “wow moment”.
He added: “It’s one of the biggest engineering projects that we’ve been involved in in a couple of decades, it’s a massive project.”
The A442 remains closed heading into town from the Greyhound Roundabout towards Hollinswood Interchange but the northbound carriageway has reopened.
The road is expected to fully reopen on Tuesday.
The 230ft high crane, which is half again as tall as the Telford Plaza One building, attracted crane enthusiasts before it was fully assembled.
It was brought to the town on 16 lorries and weighs 95 tons – the same as seven double decker buses.
Work started at about 1am yesterday with the railway line closed allowing the team to attach the crane to the bridge section.
Councillor Lee Carter, cabinet member with special responsibility for finance, commercial services and economic development, said: “This is another wow moment, it’s one of the biggest engineering projects that we’ve been involved in in a couple of decades, it’s a massive project.
“It’s upgrading our infrastructure to make sure that we’re equipped for the growth of the future.
“We are a growing town and will accept growth if you invest in infrastructure and we’re committed to that.
“It’s Telford’s 50th year and the tradition of bridge building continues which is nice and symbolic for us as a town.”
Once the crane was attached the bridge section was raised and placed in position and aligned with the lift shafts which it will sit on and be fixed to.
Motorists were advised to avoid the A442 between Hollinswood and Wombridge while the work takes place.
James Corrigan, from Balfour Beatty, said: “We’ve been working on this with the council for about two years now, we’ve got a really good relationship.”
Telford & Wrekin Council tweeted shortly after 3am: “Well, just after 3am and we are delighted to say that the rail section of the footbridge has been successfully lifted into place. Quite a crowd gathered to watch – somewhere between 50 and 100.”
