Network Rail met unexpected complications during essential railway bridge maintenance, leading to a longer road closure than planned.
Motorists and residents of Hadfield, near Glossop have been thanks following the extended road closure which came as complications arose during work to strengthen and waterproof a railway bridge to make it safe for road and rail users.
The project began in October 2021 and was set to be complete during January, but engineers discovered uncharted water pipes, drains and electricity cables within the Victorian bridge when removing the road surface.
Most of the services were no longer in use, but some were live and lead to the team having to dig around them by hand, which lead to the process taking longer than planned.
During January, it was thought that the road would need to remain closed right through to the end of March, but as this would coincide with other roadworks in the area would mean even more congestion for Hadfields busy roads.
Network Rail and Derbyshire County Council worked together to come up with the best approach to get the road open once again.
Friday the 10th of February saw Park Road bridge in Hadfield open safely for traffic despite the work on it is only partially complete and means that Network Rail will be returning to finish the essential repairs later in the year.
Electricity North West will also return at this time to complete its work within the structure of the bridge which in turn will reduce disruption for locals.
John Ackroyd, Network Rail project manager, said:
“We're sorry to people impacted by the extended closure of Park Road in Hadfield and the disruption this has been causing to the community.
“This work is crucial to secure the bridge on the Hadfield branch of the Glossop to Manchester line. While we know it's not ideal we have to come back again to finish off the project at a later date, I do hope that in the short-term traffic in the area improves and we can return when it doesn't clash with other planned road closures.”
Network Rail are still working alongside the electricity provider and Derbyshire County Council to determine the least disruptive time to finish the Park Road project.
To find out more about how Network Rail looks after its structures, please visit: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/bridges-tunnels-and-viaducts/
Maybe Network Rail should start on replacing the overhead wires on the Gosslop and Hadfield lines just like they did on the Great Eastern Main Line and Southend Victoria Line in Essex.