Bridge over railway to be demolished and rebuilt

A bridge over a railway line and station in Leeds is to be demolished and rebuilt as part of plans for the electrification of the route.

Work will take place at Station Road bridge in Cross Gates between March and November and will include some closures on the road and railway line.

The bridge was built between 1830 and 1834 but is too low to accommodate the overhead line equipment to be used on the route in the future, a Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) spokesperson said.

Lucy Grogan, sponsor of TRU, said the works would help to "transform rail journeys by better connecting towns and cities across the north".

From 31 March to 25 November, the southbound carriageway and one lane of the northbound carriageway on Station Road over the bridge will be shut to enable reconstruction work to take place, a TRU spokesperson said.

A diversion route will be signposted.

The road will be closed in both directions from 12 to 16 June and 3 to 7 July, when the bridge will be demolished and a new bridge framework and deck installed.

This will also involve weekend closures on the railway line, with services diverted or replaced by buses, the spokesperson added.

Ms Grogan said she appreciated the closure would "unfortunately cause inconvenience to the community".

"We thank everyone for their patience and understanding," she said.

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