Network Rail warns people who travel over or near the A530 Middlewich Road ‘Boulderstones Bridge’ to beware construction work will be taking place over the next five months, with both road and rail closures taking place.

Funded by the Railway Upgrade Plan, £5.7 million is being spent on replacing ‘Boulderstones Bridge’. The demolition work will start on Monday 1st of June 2020, with plans for the work to be completed in October.

Due to the nature of the work, the bridge will be closed with diversions in place for cars, bikes and pedestrians.

Rail passengers travelling on the mainline running Northwest from Crewe to Chester may experience delays, with the line being closed from Saturday 15th to Sunday 23th of August 2020 when the new bridge will start being built.

Measures have taken place to reduce the impact on transport affected from the work, such as working with Cheshire East Council and nearby car firm Bentley, but delays may still occur.

Although causing delays this year, the new bridge will require less maintenance in future decades to come, by meeting modern high standards.

Network Rail‘s Scheme Project Manager Oluwole Osunneye said “We are grateful to road users in Cheshire for their patience whilst we build a new bridge on Middlewich Road. This essential Railway Upgrade Plan work will bring the crossing over the railway up to modern standards making it safe and reliable for both traffic above and rail passengers below. I appreciate any work like this is disruptive while it takes place, but the complete renewal of this bridge now will reduce the need for future maintenance meaning fewer traffic and train delays in the years to come.”

Cheshire East Council Deputy Leader Councillor Craig Browne said “Over the last few months we have been having a number of discussions with Bentley, Network Rail and Leighton Hospital as we sought to reduce the impact Network Rail’s closure of the A530 Middlewich Road for bridge works will have on residents and road users in Crewe.

Craig continued We welcome the decision from Bentley to delay the permanent closure of Pyms Lane, which I know has been an area of concern for some, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. This will not now go ahead as originally intended as a result of additional temporary traffic management measures we have asked Network Rail to provide to help manage traffic on local roads including Pyms Lane, Sunnybank Road and Minshull New Road. These will be monitored to assess the impact of the bridge closure and to satisfy ourselves that it will not cause significant adverse impacts to our residents and businesses.  Throughout these essential works, we will be constantly reviewing the diversion route and working with Network Rail to achieve the best outcome for everyone.”

Where possible, current advice recommends the public to use other forms of transport instead of by train. If you think your journey will be affected by the bridge replacement, check with the train operating company or here on National Rail Enquires website

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