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Ordsall Chord's final lift [video]

15 Aug 17 The final piece of Network Rail’s new Ordsall Chord has been lifted into position over the banks of the River Irwell.

The final connecting band is lifted in
The final connecting band is lifted in

A steel cascade weighing 40 tonnes, was installed during the early hours of Sunday 6th August, with the second cascade being lifted into place on Monday 14th August, completing the last part of the UK’s first network arch bridge.

Work will now continue on the remainder of the project. This will involve laying ballast and track on the 1600-tonne bridge as well as further track work, signal work and installing overhead line equipment to allow electric trains to run.

A joint venture of Skanska and BAM is main contractor for the £85m project, which will help ease a rail bottleneck to the south of Manchester Piccadilly station and enable faster, more frequent services to run across the north of England.

Allan Parker, programme manager for Network Rail, said: “The installation of the cascades completes the final and unique steel ribbon-effect which runs along the outside of the network arch bridge.  We’ve reached yet another major milestone in the project and I would like to thank all the teams who have played an integral role in making this happen.  We are a step closer to providing the infrastructure for more frequent trains and better connections, not only within the city, but the north of England.”

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BDP Transport architect director Peter Jenkins, said of his flowing cascade design for the viaduct bridge: “The overall concept for the bridges is that of a continual, flowing ribbon which incorporates individual structures into a single over-arching identity. This latest piece of steelwork connects the River Irwell and Trinity Way bridges with a twisting, sinuous form which smoothly brings the concept of the structure to fruition. The development has been a true team effort from the original sketch through to construction, integrating different people and different tools to achieve the vision.

“The process began with pen and paper concepts which were explored through structural analysis and developed into complex three-dimensional modelling. The bridge’s arches and cascades were then fabricated by Severfield in Bolton using the latest steelwork techniques before being delivered to site."

The steelwork was fabricated by Severfield, which managed the installation process.

Craneage was entrusted to Baldwins.

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