Work is continuing on the £600 million Mersey Gateway Project.

Contractors working on the major infrastructure scheme have used the large bridge-building machine, 'Webster', to build a section of the approach road in Runcorn.

The route will take traffic across the Manchester Ship Canal and onto the new structure.

Using the Movable Scaffolding System (MSS), teams have cast the second span of the south elevated approach viaduct, pouring around 160 truckloads of concrete into the 1,155m3 during a 24-hour operation.


Overall, eight reinforced concrete spans will be cast in total to create the central section of the approach road.

Once completed, the south approach viaduct will link the main road network in Runcorn to the new Mersey Gateway bridge, improving connections locally and across the wider region.

Marc Heaps, Merseylink's Operations Manager for the approach viaducts, said: "This was one of the more challenging pours on the project as working above the ship canal required extra planning and a change in logistics. We couldn't place the concrete pumps underneath the machine or they'd have been under water. Instead we used additional pumps on top to give us access to the concrete."

(LM/MH)