A milestone has been reached on the £600 million Mersey Gateway project.

The Freight Line Rail Bridge at Widnes has been successfully installed over the Garston to Timperly line.

Comprising of 112 base walls and 56 roof units, with the biggest unit weighing in at 51 tonnes, the structure's design was chosen for speed of build, short construction time and minimal disruption to the rail infrastructure. It also provides a solution to allow traffic to pass over the top once completed.

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Hugh O'Connor, General Manager of Merseylink, said: "To install the bridge a steel sheet pile wall consisting of a total of 176 driven sheet piles was installed before excavating and then constructing a foundation pile cap.

"Throughout the work the railway track was constantly surveyed using specialist fixed prisms, which allowed the position of the track to be carefully monitored.

"Deep soil mixing was also conducted on both sides of the railway to make sure the required ground settlement at the site was achieved.

"After mixing was complete, embankments were built either side of the railway track before the pre-cast concrete portal was installed."

The multi-million pound Mersey Gateway is scheduled to open later this year.

(LM)