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March/April 2021
News
Bridge reopening could be further delayed as drainage pumps deemed inadequate
T
he projected date for reopening the road under the new railway bridge on Gipsy Patch Lane looks likely to be further delayed after engineers decided a larger pumping station will be required to prevent flooding. The road under the bridge has been fully closed since March 2020, when it was anticipated that it would reopen within eight months. However, the coronavirus crisis forced the installation of the new preconstructed concrete bridge to be postponed until October 2020, leading to the projected road reopening date being pushed back to July 2021. Network Rail and its contractor Alun Griffiths Ltd are currently carrying out works to lower the road below the new railway bridge, as well as installing an improved drainage system, including a new pumping station. The pumping station is needed to ensure that the lowered highway under the bridge does not flood. The highway lowering is necessary to meet national design standards that must be complied with whenever a new bridge is built and will permit double decker buses to pass under the bridge. Explaining the issues surrounding the pumping station capacity, council spokesperson said: “Resolving the historic
Pedestrian & cyclist route under the new bridge in early March 2021
issues with flooding on Gipsy Patch Lane is one of the benefits of the CPME. The improved drainage system will make the road more flood resilient in the future and make the site more able to cope with extreme weather causing less disruption to all users.” “Following ongoing survey and investigations, a larger pumping station and drainage system than previously envisaged is now required to help future-proof this key stretch of road from flooding.” “We are working closely with Network Rail and its contractor to understand the implications of these changes to the new drainage system and pumping station and how they may impact on the project’s programme and the partial reopening of Gipsy
Patch Lane in the summer.” “We will update the community when we have more information. These changes are not expected to cause any delay to the overall completion of the CPME project.” Readers will recall that last October’s bridge move didn’t exactly run to plan, with the new bridge getting stuck tens of metres short of its intended position. It was eventually freed by a fleet of heavy haulage units. The railway had to remain closed for two weeks longer than originally planned, incurring penalty charges thought to run into millions of pounds. In response to an enquiry from the Journal, council spokesperson said: “A ‘lessons learnt’ review has been completed by Network Rail
with recommendations still being worked through. The primary cause of the incident was identified as the failure of the temporary roadway [over which the new bridge was transported].” The spokesperson added: “The full and final cost is still being finalised. The extra cost will fall to Network Rail to manage and resolve as the manager of these works. It is the council’s view that the authority will not be liable for the additional costs and penalties arising from the delay experienced during the bridge installation.” A route under the new bridge for pedestrians and dismounted cyclists was reopened on 10th December 2020. This initially ran close to the north wall of the bridge but was realigned into the centre in late January (see photo). Elsewhere on Gipsy Patch Lane, the controversial felling of 20 mature trees on the south side of the road, necessary to create space for a new bus lane, was carried out in the week commencing 25th January. In mitigation, the CPME project has already provided funding for 53 trees of various species to be planted along Winterbourne Road and Orpheus Avenue and there are proposals to eventually plant 24 new trees along Gipsy Patch Lane.
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