National Highways thanks local people after vital M6 bridge works in Cumbria are completed early
National Highways is thanking local people for their patience and support following two weekend closures of the M6 in Cumbria for vital Network Rail bridge works.
The M6 between junction 39 at Shap and junction 40 at Penrith re-opened a full 13 hours early yesterday (Sunday 11 January) after Network Rail finished moving a new bridge - carrying the West Coast Main Line over the motorway - into place.
The bridge, which was constructed over many months in a compound next to the northbound M6 at Clifton south of Penrith, was carefully wheeled onto the motorway and then lifted into its final position during the second weekend closure of the month.
Steve Mason, National Highways programme delivery manager, said:
“We’d like to once again thank drivers but particularly local residents for their patience and support while these works have been ongoing. We’re pleased to have been able to lift the diversion routes much earlier than planned.
“This is the first time in recent memory the M6 has been closed for whole weekends and follows years of careful planning with Network Rail. Some 48,000 vehicles use this section of the M6 daily but we chose a time of the year when traffic volumes are at their lowest.
"This was an incredibly complex operation and reopening the M6 13 hours early is a tremendous achievement. Despite severe weather conditions, the teams involved worked tirelessly to deliver this vital, one-in-a-lifetime project to future-proof one of the most important railway lines in the country.”
Network Rail has issued a news release - complete with time-lapse footage of the weekend's painstaking operation to wheel the 4,200 tonne bridge into place - to mark the completion of the two weekends' of work which included demolishing the old bridge earlier this month:
Notes to Editors
Image from Network Rail
