Stonework – Cumber Lane Bridge

Situated on the busy Liverpool-Manchester railway link, Cumber Lane bridge was highlighted for an overhaul due to Health and Safety reasons. Both parapet walls did not meet the new legislation relating to pedestrian trafficked bridges whereby the walls had be set at a height of 196cm. This meant that the top 2 layers of existing stonework had to be carefully removed and set aside on the West elevation and replaced with new stone and associated stone copers.

Each stone had to be manufactured and installed in its exact place in line with Network Rail’s site specific drawings using high grade stainless steel dowels and performance grout.

Works were executed within a tight programme which included a series of Saturday and week night shifts. This was to reduce disruption to the surrounding residents, schools and most importantly the nearby Whiston Hospital which Cumber Lane Bridge provides an important road link for.

Working closely with AMCO Rail, SUKR managed the rail side access element of the works by way of specifying and hiring the countries only wagon-mounted MEWP which allows up to 3 operatives to work within it’s basket any one time to allow programme deadlines to be met. The rail side element of the works required vast amounts of experience from both AMCO and SUKR to plan out the programme due to the narrow width of the bridge itself and the added risk element of working closely with the railway’s overhead electrified cables. Due to the short time frame in which the cables can be shut off, this meant that the track side works could only be completed on a Saturday evening within a shorter possession.