|
Dear Stakeholder,
Work is progressing well on the A45 South Bridge Replacement
Project in Bickenhill. Solihull Council and contractors Carillion Construction
commenced in early January 2015 with this major project to replace the 160 year-old road bridge over the West
Coast main line on the dual westbound carriageway of the A45.
This is a major
project by Solihull Council to improve the highways infrastructure in the area ahead
of the forecast economic growth of the UK Central development. The scheme is expected
to be completed in the autumn of 2016 and the new bridge will be four lanes in
width with one of these acting as a dedicated lane from the motorway into the
Airport.
The scheme is split into phases.
The first phase is the building of part of the new bridge. This is
required in order to allow the A45 traffic to remain running during the old
bridge demolition which is due Christmas 2015.
Once the bridge is demolished, the second part of the bridge will be
built in its place allowing for a widened bridge for westbound traffic.
 |
|
Since the last progress update in March, work has focussed on building the first phase of the bridge construction to facilitate the diversion of traffic from the old bridge.
In addition, there has been significant effort in order to divert the utility services out of the old bridge. These works have caused some disruption to traffic and your patience in this area has been appreciated.
|
 This first phase of bridge construction work is well underway. However, before the beams can be placed for this part of the bridge, work is required to lower the overhead line electrification (OLE) equipment on the railway. Due to the fact that the electricity needs to be switched off to allow this to happen, the work can only take place during closures of the railway on a Saturday night through to Sunday morning. This work is planned for completion in mid-July.
|
 The bridge beams are due to be lifted into place
over a series of weekends in early July. This will require a large crane to be set up on
the east side of the bridge, within the works area, but adjacent to the
westbound A45.
The crane will lift the steel beams in pre-assembled braced pairs. The beam lifts will be carried out during a possession of the railway between the Saturday night and Sunday morning on each weekend. This will not give cause for any diversion routes and will only be in place from the Saturday night to Sunday morning. Local residents and visitors to the area should also be aware that there may be some additional noise and activity over this weekend.
|
Demolition of the old bridge - December 2015
A reminder that the demolition of the old bridge will take place over a 54 hour period beginning late night on Christmas Eve 2015 and finishing on Boxing Day. The demolition can only be undertaken at this time as this is the most convenient and least disruptive period to close the railway to trains. It should also provide minimal disruption to the A45 as traffic will be at its lowest level. Further information on the potential impact this will have on stakeholders and locals will be communicated in due course.
For more information about the A45 Bridge Project, visit:
www.solihull.gov.uk/a45bridge
For more information about Transport and Highways in Solihull, visit:
www.solihull.gov.uk/transport
|
