Work to repair Whitefield Tunnel has been completed, securing its long-term operation and safety. The 19th century tunnel is used by trams on the Manchester Metrolink line to Bury and is crucial to being able to provide a reliable service on this crucial part of the network.
The latest work took place during a six day closure at the start of the school October half-term holidays and was needed after an inspection had found a fracture in an iron support beam within the roof of the structure.
New precast concrete roof beams and supports were put in place, which effectively renews the whole structure, and should mean that the tunnel is now good for decades to come.
Although the main repair works have been finished, further work will now take place to waterproof the tunnel and then utilities will also be put back in. The final phase, which will include landscaping and reinstatement of street furniture, will then be finished over the next few months.
The work to replace the beams was completed by Metrolink operator KAM’s contracting partner, Story Contracting Ltd.
Ian Davies, Metrolink Network Director at TfGM, said: “Replacing beams in a tunnel dating back to the Victorians was never going to be a simple task and the close proximity of nearby electricity, gas, fibreoptic and water mains and the nearby road only added to the complex nature of the work.
“Thanks to everyone’s hard work, we’ve been able to complete this work on time and get trams back running through the tunnel and back between Bury and the city centre.
“Thanks to everyone involved in this project for their efforts and our passengers for their patience this week while the delivery team got the job done.
“We know work like this is disruptive to passengers but it helps to make sure our tram network is safe, resilient and reliable for years to come.”
The chance was also taken during this closure to complete other important works on the line. This included surveys and construction upgrades on a substation close to Heaton Park. TfGM are in the process of delivering substation improvement works at not only Heaton Park but also Hagside and Collyhurst to make the network more resilient and allow more trams to run in the future.