Battenhall Rail Bridge
Project managing the delivery of a new, extended rail bridge to accommodate the dualling of an arterial road in south Worcestershire.
Project Overview
The Southern Link Road (A4440) forms part of Worcestershire’s principal road network, providing a vital link between the M5 Motorway, the south and west of Worcester, and other towns. Worcestershire County Council planned to dual the Southern Link Road to ease traffic congestion on this and routes through the city centre.
To accommodate a wider road, extending the rail bridge, which carries Great Western services into the city and onto Hereford, was necessary. The Council recognised the challenges involved in third party works on the railways and asked us to project manage the bridge extension.
Road reopened ahead of time
Managing the scheme
Under a framework as Rail Advisors to Worcestershire County Council, we project managed the work from detailed design through to completion of the scheme.
In particular, our specialists negotiated the underbridge agreement with Network Rail Asset Protection and facilitated the design approval, reviewing, and providing feedback to the designers before final submission.
Our project managers and the contractors and Network Rail’s Asset Protection team completed extensive pre-planning to risk-assess the sufficiency of time, staffing, and machinery and to coordinate the works to ensure completion within the designated blockade possession time.
To reduce costs to the Council and to maximise programme opportunities, works at the new Worcestershire Parkway station were coordinated to take advantage of the same blockade of the line.
The new span was constructed on site, adjacent to the existing rail bridge and to the side of the road. During a week-long road closure and possession of the railway line over the May Bank Holiday, tracks were removed, and earthworks dug back to allow the new span to be driven into position on SPMTs (self-propelled modular transporters).
The thorough pre-planning and execution saw the new bridge completed to enable the Southern Link Road to be reopened to traffic 36 hours ahead of schedule and the railway possession to be handed back to Network Rail at the designated time.
Outcomes
Following the extension of the railway bridge, further highways work was completed to finish the dualling of this section of the Southern Link Road.
This has reduced traffic congestion on the southern side of the city and between the motorway and other arterial roads.
