People are being notified and advised about further road closures needed for the major restoration of three historic railway bridges in Manchester.

In a complete refurbishment, the Grade II listed bridges outside Manchester Victoria station will be returned to their Victorian splendour which is to secure their future for decades to come.

After the discovery of structural defects hidden by layers of old paintwork, means that the project which was due to finish in June now has to have its work extended into July.

Due to its extension, additional road closures are needed to finish the project. Residents and motorists are being invited to a drop in meeting to find out more on Thursday 30 May between 4pm-7pm at The Stoller Hall on Hunts Bank in Manchester.

The road closures needed include:

• Victoria Street being fully closed to road traffic from 17 June to 22 June 2019.
• Mirabel Street staying closed at the Victoria Street junction until late July 2019.

Network Rail has been working closely with heritage groups to ensure the bridges are properly restored. The corroded decorative steelwork has been painstakingly reproduced and forged by specialist blacksmiths in the West Midlands. Historic paint analysis has also been carried out so the bridges are returned as close to their original colour scheme as possible.

What did the officials say?

Sarah Padmore, scheme project manager for Network Rail said:

“Work to grit blast and expose the metal bridge structures is progressing well, however this has uncovered the need for more extensive repairs to the steelwork than we had anticipated.

“To safely complete this work, we need additional road closures and expect to be on site until the end of July.

“We are really sorry for the inconvenience this will cause to residents and motorists and we have invited members of the local community to find out more at a drop-in meeting next week.”

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