Network Rail has installed a temporary footbridge as part of its work to replace the bridge over the railway on Glasgow‘s Shields Road.

The temporary structure is ninety metres long and spans the four rail lines running below. Installing it will allow the utilities that run beneath the road surface to be diverted safely while the deck of the adjacent bridge is removed and replaced. The bridge contains twenty-four different pipes and cables, including a gas main, electricity cables and multiple phone and internet services.

Work to install the footbridge took place over two four-hour night shifts, with workers using a one-hundred-tonne crane to lift the prefabricated sections – two twenty-six metre spans and two fifteen-metre access ramps – into place. The power to the overhead railway wires was switched off to ensure safety.

Network Rail began preparatory work for the bridge foundations in September, and is carrying out the work on behalf of Glasgow City Council. The bridge has been subject to weight restrictions for more than twenty years, which this work aims to remove, enabling the bridge to carry more traffic.

Once the utilities have been relocated onto the new structure, access ramps will be installed and the footbridge will open to pedestrians, and to cyclists who dismount, from February 2024, before the existing road bridge is demolished. Work on the structure will continue until August 2024.

Laura Craig, Network Rail’s project manager for the Shields Road work, said: “The progress of work on this bridge has taken a significant step forward and means we can begin the important work of diverting utilities from the road bridge so that it can be replaced.

“Keeping a safe route available to pedestrians is really important so that those living and working near Shields Road can still get to where they need to be during the bridge demolition.

“I’d like to thank the public for their continued patience whilst we carry out this essential work and ask pedestrians and cyclists for ongoing consideration for their fellow citizens while using this temporary route.”