The finishing touches are being applied this weekend to a road over rail bridge in Bradford on Avon following a eight-month over-run on the construction project.
The Network Rail bridge in St Margaret’s Street was scheduled for completion in March but is now expected to be finished in time for the road to be re-opened on Monday (December 18).
Contractors from Balfour Beatty were on Friday resurfacing the road over the bridge and repainting the white and yellow lines for traffic.
They also have to reinstate utility services and finish rebuilding a stone wall next to the new steelwork on the bridge.
The road has a 20mph speed limit and connects St Margaret’s Street with St Margaret’s Place and the A363 Trowbridge Road.
Network Rail has apologised to locals for the delays in completing the project.
The company said: “Starting from Monday, December 18, temporary traffic management will be in place to allow traffic over the bridge while a section of the road is closed to allow Openreach to safely finish the reinstatement of cables.
“This plan has been put in place so vehicles can travel along the road. During this time, parking restrictions will be in place on both sides of the bridge.
“The pavement across the bridge and the access to St Margaret's Place will also be open from Monday, December 18.”
The national rail infrastructure company has faced numerous problems with the project which is now eight months overdue.
These included the availability of specialist contractors who could divert utilities, periods of industrial action by train drivers and railway workers, the extremely cold temperatures experienced last winter, a need for redesign work, and an issue with the pouring of concrete.
The bridge in St Margaret’s Street is being replaced owing to its poor condition, which meant that it wasn’t economical to repair and a full replacement was needed.
The replacement was originally scheduled to take six months from September 2022, with a full road closure in place throughout, alongside a partial closure of St Margaret’s Place public right of way.
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