Replacement of a railway bridge at Wem on the line between Shrewsbury and Crewe will cause disruption to both road users and rail passengers at the end of December.

The bridge is on Mill Street a Wem in north Shropshire. Costing £2.9m, the work will take place from 11 pm on Friday, 24 December, to 4 am on Wednesday, 29 December. During this time, no trains will be running. No trains are scheduled to run on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and a rail replacement bus will be in operation between Shrewsbury and Crewe on 27 and 28 December.

To ensure public safety, Mill Street will be temporarily closed underneath the bridge until 4 am on 29 December. A signed diversionary route will be via the B5063/Shawbury Road, A49, and B5065/Soulton Road.

To allow residents to attend the town’s Christmas Fayre without having to follow the diversionary route, it will not come into effect until 9 pm on Saturday, 4 December.

For road users, traffic will be reduced to a single lane, and traffic lights will be in place at the roundabout between the B4576 and the B5063. There will also be a full closure of the roundabout for 15 minutes on Sunday, 26 December, whilst the new bridge is driven into place. As far as possible, pedestrian access underneath the bridge will be maintained when work isn’t happening.

A self-propelled modular transporter will be used to drive the new bridge into place, which will require a total closure of Mill Street for just 15 minutes.

Follow-up work is planned to take place until mid-January 2022.

Laura Townsend, scheme project manager for Network Rail said: “At over 100 years old, the railway bridge on Mill Street has come to the end of its life so replacing it now will allow us to continue to run a safe and efficient railway resulting in better journeys for rail passengers and road users in the future.

“We know that there is never an ideal time to carry out work of this nature and we would like to thank the local community in advance for their patience whilst we carry out this essential work.

“This is a significant investment in Wem and I hope local residents will bear with us as much as possible during this period.”

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