Incredible photos show the near-complete demolition of a bridge during ongoing work that has closed parts of the M62 this weekend. The usually bustling section of the M62 near Rochdale has been closed this weekend for major demolition work. It’s the first time in recent memory a section of the motorway has been closed for an entire weekend.
Project Timeline and Details
The closure remains in place on the M62 eastbound between J18 – J20 and westbound between J20 – J19. The section of road will reopen at 6am on Monday, September 9 at 6am.
The work is a key stage in a £22 million project by Network Rail to dismantle the old Castleton bridge and take it away on the M62. A new bridge will then be installed during a second weekend closure between September 20 and 23. Work has been centered at a site just beyond Manchester Golf Club in Middleton, next to the motorway.
Two 42-meter, 70-tonne steel beams were ferried from Ireland and delivered via the M62 during an overnight closure last month. The railway will be closed until the early morning of September 25 between Manchester Victoria and Rochdale while the bridge is replaced. Rail replacement buses will be in operation.
Impact and Progress Updates
The latest pictures of the work were posted this evening on X (formerly Twitter) by National Highways North-West. Uploaded three pictures showing the little that remains of the bridge, the post said: “Good progress is being made on the ‘Castleton bridge replacement’ works. Weekend closure remains in place until 06:00 Mon 9th #M62 eastbound between J18 – J20 & westbound between J20 – J19. Please allow extra journey time.”
Olivia Boland, Network Rail sponsor, explained details of the project to the M.E.N. previously. She said: “The main construction will be complete by September 25 this year. It is very common for us to use Saturday nights for our works when the trains are not running, so there will be some follow-ups to finish the welding and stressing on the track.
“The railway will open with a small speed restriction on it (50mph) and then after five to six weeks when the railway works are done it will reopen to a line speed of 75mph. This is a sped-up project given the fact the bridge isn’t in the best condition and is deteriorating. We used specialist designers with lots of experience – getting good heads together.
“It’s quite difficult to say (how much longer the current bridge would last), you can’t put a timeline on it but we have been instructed to replace it within two years. That doesn’t mean it will fall down catastrophically, but that it is just recommended to be replaced.
“We (Network Rail) replace bridges all the time but this size and scale, over the motorway, is something we don’t do that often, especially in the north west. It is quite a novelty for us to do – it’s probably one of the first in the north west for us to replace a motorway bridge.”
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