Motorists may now drive along Station Road in Quainton, Buckinghamshire again, after Network Rail completed repairs to a railway bridge.

Traffic resumed yesterday morning (Tuesday 2 January), after engineers had strengthened the bridge by filling its three arches with foamed concrete. As a result, the weight limit on the bridge no longer applies, allowing all road traffic to use it while other local roads are closed during HS2 which will start this year.

HS2 part-funded the bridge work in order to keep traffic flowing during its work preparing to rebuild a bridge on Fidlers Field Road and make space for the new high-speed line.

Network Rail, its contractor Amey, HS2 and Buckinghamshire Council are working together on this project.

Once HS2 has completed its work in the area and the new road bridge is open to motorists, Network Rail will carry out further work in Quainton, reinstating tracks between the station and Calvert.

This work will include building a new bridge at Station Road to keep the railway crossing safe and reliable for decades to come.

Quainton is a village in Buckinghamshire, around seven miles north-west of Aylesbury.

Neil Gaskin, project director for Network Rail’s Central route, said: “We’re really pleased to safely reopen Station Road bridge to motorists in Buckinghamshire and I’d like to thank local people for their patience while the bridge was closed. This vital strengthening work will help to keep traffic moving while our partners at HS2 continue construction of the new high-speed railway between London and Birmingham.”

Hugo Rebelo, HS2’s senior project manager, said: “Once complete, HS2 will almost halve journey times between London and Birmingham and free up space for more local services on the West Coast main line. But it’s also important that we reduce disruption for communities during construction. The work to Station Road bridge are a great example of what can be achieved by the effective collaboration and positive engagement between stakeholders, to reduce the length of road diversions and benefit the local communities. We will now proceed with the construction of the new and permanent road section at this location, which will, once completed, further improve road connections in the Quainton area.”

Iain Macpherson, Buckinghamshire councillor, said: “It’s been both a privilege and a delight to chair this sizeable group of up to forty members, at times, since inception in August. The high level of motivation demonstrated by every member, even when confronted by some complex challenges, has been outstanding and the weekly meeting discipline has kept us on track. We set a year-end re-opening target and we’ve delivered. Well done to everyone.”