Network Rail to replace Agbrigg Road bridge at Wakefield over Christmas

Network Rail will demolish and replace the railway bridge over Agbrigg Road in Wakefield between Christmas Eve and 27 December, in a project it values at £5m on the Doncaster to Leeds route.

The existing bridge, next to Sandal & Agbrigg station, has main steel girders that Network Rail said are structurally substandard. A weight restriction and close monitoring are in place as a result.

The replacement will allow those measures to be removed, Network Rail said, and will have a 120-year design life. The company said the new structure will also be better able to withstand strikes from road vehicles, reducing the risk of disruption to both the railway and Agbrigg Road.

Sean Ellerby, Network Rail portfolio manager, said: "Christmas provides a unique opportunity for our teams to access the track and complete the work in a much shorter time than would otherwise be possible."

The works

Preparatory work is under way and the new bridge will be built in advance at the work compound near the station, according to Network Rail.

The main replacement will take place while no trains are running, from the early hours of Christmas Eve to 8am on Sunday 27 December. Engineers will first remove the track and ballast above the bridge before a 50-tonne demolition excavator removes the old structure.

The replacement deck will arrive in two sections. Engineers will then install waterproofing and drainage and reinstate the railway on top.

Network Rail's release headlines the investment as £5m, while Ellerby put it at "almost £5 million". He said the company was "investing almost £5 million on the new bridge to help us maintain a safe, reliable railway and avoid future disruption."

Road closures

For road users, temporary traffic lights will be in place on Agbrigg Road from 8 November, with Saturday night road closures from 14 November.

Agbrigg Road will be closed fully around the Christmas bridge replacement, with a signed vehicle diversion agreed with Wakefield Council. Some parking spaces will be temporarily suspended during closures to allow traffic management to operate and large construction vehicles to gain access.

Northern's station page for Sandal & Agbrigg says the station has a car park by platform 2 that is open 24 hours.

Wider Christmas programme

The Agbrigg Road job falls within the same window as Network Rail's renewal of 11 switches and crossings units at Marshgate Junction in Doncaster. Trains are planned to resume through Doncaster on Sunday 27 December.

Network Rail's Doncaster release, issued on 13 October, said Northern services would not run between Leeds and Doncaster during that work, with replacement buses running between Wakefield Westgate and Doncaster.

Background

Network Rail says its asset teams monitor all bridges on the network and check their structural condition, and it lists improved resilience to vehicle strikes among the benefits of replacing a bridge.

The company has carried out similar work near Wakefield before. Over Christmas 2020 it replaced the Doncaster Road bridge at Crofton in a £3.7m project, after the old bridge had been damaged over the years by lorries and high-sided vehicles. The replacement structure weighed about 635 tonnes, Network Rail said in March 2021.

Once the Agbrigg Road bridge is installed, teams will complete associated highways work, reinstate utilities and remove the temporary site compound. Network Rail said the wider construction programme will run until February 2027.