Companies steaming ahead with airport construction

Not only have the companies rolled a new £15m road-over-rail bridge at the airport into place two days ahead of schedule, but have also reopened a main road into the airport five days early.

Outwood Lane, which leads to and from Terminals 1 and 3 opened on February 27 instead of March 3.

The concrete bridge has been built alongside the existing station at the airport and is a crucial milestone in the programme to build a third platform.

It is hoped the bridge will relieve congestion and improve operational flexibility, leading to better punctuality and reliability of trains.

Peter Strachan, route director for Network Rail, said: "Completing this section of the project five days early means no more delays to passengers travelling by road to and from the airport.

"Careful project planning and close liaison between us and our contractor has paid dividends."

Bob Longworth, capacity planning manager at the Airport, said: "The third rail platform will play a significant role in the future of Manchester Airport's overall transport infrastructure and this essential work has been carried out speedily and effectively.

"We are very pleased to be able to open Outwood Lane early causing our passengers the minimum amount of disruption as they travel to and from the airport."

David Cochrane, from GMPTE's Infrastructure Projects, added: "This is fantastic news and reflection of how well the project is being managed by the Network Rail team on behalf of the funders and stakeholders."

Outwood Lane passes over the ends of the station platforms so an additional bridge section had to be constructed to take the road over the new platform.

The new bridge, shaped like an upside down U, was built using poured concrete, then raised up on a 64-wheeled transporter before being rolled into place.

Having successfully completed the roll, the area around the new structure was filled, allowing the road to be resurfaced and reopened.