Work has now started on moving part of the Karlsruhe Friendship Bridge into its final resting place over Nottingham Railway Station following the completion of the second 52 metre section of the main structure. The entire iconic bridge will be pushed across the live railway until it reaches its final resting position over the platform buildings and canopies.
The bridge will take several weeks to move with precision engineering techniques being used to slide the bridge 2.6 metres per cycle and up to 10 metres per night using a hydraulic push-pull system. Once this 104 metre section of bridge is in place there will be two other smaller bridges built over Station Street and Queen’s Road – either side of the station – and together these three structures will be joined together to make the full Karlsruhe Friendship Bridge.
Once in its final position work will commence on laying a concrete deck on the bridge and install the tram tracks and a new tram stop at Nottingham Station. It is expected that these works will be completed by the end of this year. The bridge will carry two tracks and will also have three metre wide public walkways on either side.
Cllr Jane Urquhart, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Transport at Nottingham City Council, commented: “t’s wonderful to see this landmark tram bridge continue its journey over Nottingham Station. Passengers will soon get a real glimpse of how the redeveloped train station will look when the works are completed next year. When complete, they will completely transform how people connect with the entire city’s transport network. Local people and businesses are benefiting from employment opportunities on the tram and station projects, with almost 600 local people currently working to construct the tram extension and to redevelop the station.”