Ordsall Chord Bridge, Northern Hub

The Northern Hub is part of Network Rail’s £1bn+ Great North Rail Project, part of the national Railway Upgrade Plan to increase connectivity and economic growth in the region.

We partnered with Skanska to deliver significant and complex civil engineering and construction works for the project.

Our aim was to create a network for the future while celebrating the industrial heritage of Manchester.

We have successfully connected all three of Manchester’s train stations for the first time, using the UK’s first asymmetric network arch bridge.

The 90m-long bridge, weighing more than 600t, forms part of Ordsall Chord. This will provide 300m of new railway track linking Manchester’s Oxford Road, Piccadilly and Victoria stations.

The two arches were initially assembled on-site from 12 weathering steel sections. We installed them with a tandem lift using a 750t-capacity crawler crane and a 1,350t-capacity crawler.

To make the construction programme quicker and more efficient, we installed the steel composite bridge deck separately, supported on temporary trestles in the river.

“As impressive as the outcome is in terms of its engineering and overall delivery success, what has been most rewarding has been the manner in which the success has been achieved; through open collaboration with over 200 stakeholders and by everyone focusing on the same outcome. This was a game changer, not only for the people on the project and its neighbours but also the industry as a whole. Customers will feel this benefit for many years to come.” Alan Cox, Director of Pre-construction.