Bridge completed on Mersey Gateway Crossing

The Mersey Gateway Crossing development has reached a significant milestone with the completion of a bridge over the River Mersey. 

It is the first bridge over the River Mersey for 54 years and will allow the Merseylink construction consortium – who is putting the new structure together for Halton Borough Council – to work from the temporary structure when working on the Mersey Gateway crossing. 

This “important milestone” is another step in the development of a project that will bring much needed traffic relief on the Silver Jubilee Bridge, which is wholly necessary because the bridge is used by more than 80,000 vehicles each day – ten times over the capacity it was designed for. 

The Silver Jubilee Bridge was the last bridge built when it was opened in 1961, and the Mersey Gateway Crossing will alleviate the added traffic pressures that are putting severe pressure on the existing bridge. 

The Mersey Gateway project is one of the largest infrastructure initiatives seen in the UK in recent years and will see a number of features including a 1,000m-long cable stay bridge, six lanes of traffic added – three in either direction – and a curved approach at each end of the bridge to maximise the visual impact and emphasise just how unique this design is. 

Construction of the temporary bridge was finalised yesterday after a period of ten months that connects both sides. This trestle bridge is not available to the public because of its role as being something that can be used for heavy construction vehicles and will provide access so that construction can continue on the crossing. 

Merseylink Project Director Richard Walker, outlined the significance of the development.

He said: “Completion of the trestle bridge marks another important milestone for the Mersey Gateway project. It will provide us with full access to the river, enabling work to start on the central cofferdam. 

“This is a great achievement for the project and I’d like to thank everyone involved for their hard work.”

The structure in place will be added to by the installation of a lifting section and once the Mersey Gateway Bridge is in place, the trestle bridge will be removed. 

This exciting scheme will open in 2017 providing important transport, social and economic benefits to the area in the form of almost 500 permanent full-time equivalent jobs throughout construction, more than 4,500 direct and indirect jobs, and the bridge is estimated to provide nearly £62M in Gross Value Added from new jobs by 2030. 

Leader of Halton Borough Council and Chair of the Mersey Gateway Crossing Board, Councillor Rob Polhill, added: “This is fantastic news and a sure sign that the project is moving forward well. It is very exciting to see all the work taking place in the river and I’m sure that many people, including me, are now looking forward to seeing the main bridge take shape.”

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