As part of a £22m project to rebuild a bridge over the M62 at Castleton near Rochdale in Greater Manchester, Network Rail has released drone footage of 42-metre beams being delivered to the site in readiness for the work.

The two 42-metre, 70-tonne steel beams were manufactured at Newbridge in Co. Kildare, Ireland and in a 200-mile journey were ferried across the Irish Sea to Holyhead in Wales, then during an overnight closure of the M62, they had a police escort to the site where the bridge will be built in situ ahead of its installation.

The bridge will be rebuilt over two weekends in September.

That will require the closure of the M62 from 9 pm on Friday 6th to 6 am on Monday, 9th September, and from 9 pm on Friday, 20th to 6 am on Monday, 23rd September.

During those weekends the M62 eastbound carriageway will be closed between J18 and J20 and the westbound carriageway between J19 and J20.

The M62 closures will enable engineers to dismantle the old bridge and remove it, with the new bridge being installed during the second weekend.

As well as the complete closure of the motorway, the M62 will be reduced to three lanes until 18 October, and from Monday, 9th until Friday, 20th September, it will be closed overnight from 9 pm to 6 am. between J19 and J20.

Recommended diversion routes can be found by clicking here.

As well as closures of the M62, there will be no train services between Manchester Victoria and Rochdale from 6th September until the early morning of 25th September, with rail-replacement bus services running instead.

During this period passengers should check their travel plans in advance as journey times will be significantly longer than usual.

The replacement of Castleton bridge is essential for the safe running of our railway, and crucial to the country’s economy as 6% of the UK’s energy supply relies on the bridge for transportation.

I’d like to thank passengers and motorists for their understanding while we carry out this work. It is a unique project that sees weekend closures of the M62 for the first time. Please, check before you travel on the M62 or between Manchester and Rochdale from 6 – 25 September 2024.

Olivia Boland, Network Rail sponsor

The collaboration between Network Rail and National Highways highlights our commitment to minimising disruption for both rail and road users during this essential project.

We appreciate the understanding of passengers and motorists during this work and urge them to check travel plans for September 2024.

National Highways is actively working with Network Rail to communicate the impact on road users and ensure a smooth process during this important upgrade.

Steve Mason, National Highways north-west programme delivery manager

I would like to thank customers for their patience and understanding whilst this important infrastructure work takes place. Rail replacement buses will be operating services between Manchester Victoria and Rochdale so customers can still get where they want to be – but journey times will be longer.

Craig Harrop, regional director for Northern

Castleton bridge is an essential part of the country’s freight network and is on a key freight route across the Pennines which links the west and east sides of the country.

Heavy freight trains, which deliver aggregate products so the construction sector can keep building roads and houses run over the bridge, as well as several daily biomass services to Drax power station, which provides power to the national grid for electricity.

David Hunter, Network Rail’s senior freight manager