Network Rail reopened Broxbourne’s Nazeing New Road yesterday morning after completing a four-month project to replace a bridge at the end of its useful life. The company expects that the new bridge will help road users and train passengers travel through the area safely and reliably for the next one hundred and twenty years.

Motorists, pedestrians and cyclists used a diversion route while the road was closed for the project.

Greater Anglia trains were unable to run under the bridge for six days in January while major work took place over the railway. The bridge sits over the main line between London, Hertfordshire, Essex and Cambridgeshire.

The project was carried out by Network Rail’s contractor, J Murphy & Sons. The major milestones for the project were:

• digging out the road, lifting the old bridge away and putting the new structure in
• pouring, curing and waterproofing the new concrete bridge deck
• strengthening the stretches of the bridge that were not fully replaced, helping to avoid the need for additional significant work in future
• repainting the stretches of the bridge that were not fully replaced, protecting the repaired steelwork for the future
• enabling the reinstallation of gas, electricity and telecoms connections across the bridge
• surfacing the road and putting back the pavement

Simon Milburn, Network Rail Anglia’s infrastructure director, said: “We’ve been making the very most of the road closure to deliver a replacement bridge that will serve Broxbourne and the railway for many decades to come.

“I’d also like to thank Greater Anglia passengers again for bearing with us while train services were affected for six days in January. The new bridge is vital for the future safe and reliable running of the line.”

Liam Maw, J. Murphy & Sons Ltd project manager, said: “We’re extremely pleased to have replaced the two central spans, strengthened the outer spans and reopened the bridge on time. A great team effort went into the planning of this complex project, alongside liaising with the local community to minimise disruption.”