The Anonymous Widower

Network Rail To Rebuild Multi-Million-Pound Bridge Across M62 In Rochdale

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on RAILUK.

These four paragraphs describe the work.

Network Rail is investing more than £20 million in rebuilding a major railway bridge that takes trains over the M62 in Castleton, near Rochdale.

Passengers and motorists are urged to check before they travel in September 2024 as rail and road closures are required to replace the 42-metre-long, 2,000 tonne bridge.

The work will ensure safe and reliable journeys for passengers and freight over this vital structure for years to come.

To complete the work, engineers need to dismantle the old bridge and take it away on the M62. The new bridge materials will be delivered by road and built on site.

This Google Map shows the location of the bridge.

Note.

1. Running East-West across the map is the M62, which is the TransPennine motorway with the big Junction 20 in the North-East corner.
2. Junction 20 connects the M62 to the North-South A 627 (M).
3. Meandering its way North-South up the middle of the map is the Rochdale Canal.
4. Where the Canal leaves the map at its Northern edge, there is Castleton station on the Calder Valley Line, that is the picturesque route between Manchester in the West and Leeds and Bradford in the East.
5. The Calder Valley Line runs North-South across the map to the West of the Rochdale Canal.
6. The bridge to be replaced is where the Calder Valley Line passes over the motorway.

This Google Map shows a close up of the bridge.

Note.

1. The Rochdale Canal running North-South at the Eastern edge of the map.
2. The M62 running East-West across the bottom of the map.
3. The Calder Valley Line runs North-South and passes over the motorway.
4. To the North of the motorway, there is a large triangular junction, that connects the heritage East Lancashire Railway to the Calder Valley Line.

This Google Map shows a 3D image of the bridge from the East.

Ot looks to be a modern bridge, so when the M62 was built in the 1970s was some of these dodgy concretes used?

The RAILUK article does have these two paragraphs.

The bridge, known as Castleton bridge, carries 6% of the UK’s energy supply across the country, as freight trains carry material to and from Drax power station in Selby.

Olivia Boland, Network Rail sponsor, said: “The replacement of Castleton bridge is essential for the safe running of our railway, and crucial to the country’s economy as 6% of the UK’s energy supply relies on the bridge for transportation.

So is the £20 million being spent to in part make sure Drax keeps running?

Conclusion

This is going to cause traffic chaos.

March 22, 2024 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Bridges, Calder Valley Line, Drax Power Station, M62 Motorway, Rochdale