Network Rail will begin the vital work on Monday the 20th of June and will be ongoing until Sunday the 16th of October.

The Claverton Street railway bridge is located above the A36 Churchill Bridge roundabout, south of Bath city centre.

In order to keep disruption for road users and rail passengers to a minimum, the work will be carried out through the night, the road will be open as normal between 6am and 7pm each day and train services will not be affected throughout the project.

The bridge sits just outside Bath Spa station and requires substantial steel and brickwork repairs in order to carry train services in, out and through the city safely and reliably.

Bath Spa station sees approximately 17,500 tourists, commuters and visitors each day and when the work is completed will give the important railway bridge which serves it an extended lifespan of at least 25 years.

The £800,000 project will see Network Rail engineers work through the evenings on top of the bridge, on the trackside and from the road underneath, grit-blasting which involves forcibly propelling abrasive material against a surface at high pressure, repairing metalwork ahead of applying protective paint and brickwork repair which will be carried out to the sides and support structures of the bridge.

In order to complete the work safely for rail, road users and pedestrians, the A36 at Churchill Bridge roundabout will see closures to eastbound and southbound traffic from 7pm to 6am from the 20th of June to the 16th of October, seven days a week.

Between the 20th of August and the 9th of October, Network Rail engineers will only work trackside each Saturday evening, which will provide different road closures that will last between midnight and 7am.

Diversion routes have been approved by Bath and North East Somerset Council for the period of work and are as follows:

• All northbound traffic including access to the A4 London Road, A46 and M4 motorway will travel via Green Park Road and Charles Street to Queen Square, and then via Gay Street and George Street onto the A4 The Paragon.
• All eastbound traffic including access to Bathwick, Bathampton and Warminster, will travel via the A3039 Dorchester Street and Manvers Street to North Parade before turning left onto the A36 Pulteney Road (South).
• All southbound traffic including access to the A367 Wellsway to Radstock and Midsomer Norton will travel via the A3039 Dorchester Street and Manvers Street to North Parade before turning right onto the A36 Pulteney Road (South).
• All Westbound traffic towards Keynsham and Bristol leaving the city centre will either follow the southbound diversion before travelling onwards via the A36 Lower Bristol Road or travel out of Bath via the A4 Upper Bristol Road.

Working closely with the Council, other businesses and stakeholders within the city, Network Rail has identified large-scale events which may be significantly affected by the project and has altered its programme with an agreement to stop work on a selection of dates in order to accommodate the events as follows:

• 15th to 16th of July for the Michael Bublé concert
• 22nd to 24th of July for Bath Boules
• 29th to 31st of July for the Fantastic Food Festival

Michael Contopoulos, Network Rail’s Project Director, said:

“The Claverton Street railway bridge is a significant piece of rail infrastructure that carries around 17,500 rail passengers in, out and through the city of Bath each day. Now it needs important repairs to extend its lifespan and structural integrity.

“To carry out this work safely, we need to close the road underneath the bridge and for that we apologise for the disruption this will cause road users.

“We are aware of the impact a traffic diversion will have in such a busy city centre location and we have limited our working to overnight shifts to minimise disruption to road users as far as possible. Some of our work may be noisy at times and we again apologise if any nearby residents are affected by this work.

“We will be doing all we can to complete this work as quickly and quietly as safely possible, and we would like to thank residents, businesses and road users in advance for their patience and understanding.”

Local residents and businesses with any questions or concerns about the project are encouraged to get in touch with Network Rail’s by visiting  http://www.networkrail.co.uk/contactus