It’s the final bridge needed for the first phase of the West Midlands Metro line to Dudley and Brierley Hill and it is now going back into position as part of another major milestone in the construction of the extension. Crossing Birmingham New Road the old structure had become a local landmark thanks to a Hanson’s Mild Ale advert which had been applied many years ago and in a look back to its heritage the new bridge has reproduction ads in place as well.
Work on removing the old bridge took place in December 2023. It has had to be removed to allow a structure to be put in place which meets all modern safety requirements to allow the Metro to travel over it.
The new bridge has been mainly built off site and has also been treated to a signwriter who has added the finishing touches of the “HANSON’S MILD ALE” advert onto the structure. Further road closures of Birmingham New Road have followed, with the plans due to see closures in place for three consecutive weekends from 7th June.
The actual lifting of the bridge into place started on Saturday 15th June with it arriving in various sections before on-site cranes moved it across the road. Further works are required in the area but this is a significant achievement and will allow further extension works to be undertaken before the line is ready for trams to start running.
Its not uncommon for us to feature low loaders on this website but they normally have trams on them! This time it’s a bridge and here we see the new structure having arrived on site.
More parts of the bridge arrive on the back of a lorry.
The first part of the bridge is lifted into position.
With one part in place the second part takes air and is manoeuvred into position.
Down it goes. Just how many cranes do you need for one bridge to be lifted into place! (All Photographs by Andy Walters, 15th June 2024)
It’s brilliant to see how MMA is keeping the heritage a live