Castle Foregate railway bridge works to start

Visitors to Shrewsbury town centre are being warned to expect possible disruption from next Monday (1 October 2012) when Network Rail starts work to repair and refurbish the Castle Foregate railway bridge, close to the main railway station building.

The work will require scaffolding to be erected under the bridge and work will be carried out in a sheeted, sealed, environment to help control the temperature and moisture.

Network Rail’s works will be carried out in two parts, concentrating on half of the bridge width at a time.  While each part of the work is carried out, half of the carriageway under the bridge will be closed.

This means that only one traffic lane under the bridge on Castle Foregate will be open while work is carried out.  People using this route, and surrounding routes, are therefore being advised to expect extended journey times, particularly in the morning and afternoon peak hours.

To minimise disruption Shropshire Council has insisted that Network Rail complete this work as quickly as possible.  As a result they will be working 24 hours a day, but keeping noise to an absolute minimum between 11pm and 7am.

The work is estimated to last around four weeks.

Network Rail’s work has been timed to coincide with Shropshire Council’s Northern Gateway enhancement scheme on Chester Street to minimise disruption to road users. 

Simon Jones, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member responsible for transport and highways, said:

“It’s important to stress that Shrewsbury remains open for business while these two important schemes are carried out and I encourage people to continue visiting the town centre.

“This important bridge work, and the Northern Gateway enhancements, will bring about a significant improvement to the Castle Foregate area, but unfortunately the work is likely to cause disruption to traffic users.  We have therefore insisted that Network Rail complete the work as quickly as possible, and have worked closely with them to co-ordinate both sets of works in this area to attempt to keep disruption to a minimum.”

Andrew Bannerman, local Shropshire Councillor for Quarry and Coton Hill, said:

“It is good news that Network Rail is refurbishing the rail bridge to tie in with the council’s enhancement of the Northern Gateway.  I hope drivers will appreciate the importance of these works and some will perhaps experiment with a different route or mode of transport for their journey, to avoid delays.

“This work is part of a phased series of enhancements at entrances to the town centre, which are supporting the effort to bring more visitors to our beautiful town.”