Silver Jubilee Bridge

[Beemer]

I am lead to believe that the Silver Jubilee Bridge (the old Runcorn/Widnes bridge) is to re-open beginning of September. Not before time I hear you say.

[vanguard]

Aug 19, 2020 16:55:07 GMT 1 Beemer said:

I am lead to believe that the Silver Jubilee Bridge (the old Runcorn/Widnes bridge) is to re-open beginning of September. Not before time I hear you say.

   You forgot to say what year Brian

[hazard]

Could very well be early September this year, I've been advised though that once all the equipment i.e offices on site amongst other things it could be close to mid/end September.

Will drop you a pm when I have more information though

[Beemer]

For all those sitting with baited breath for the old Silver Jubilee Bridge to re-open then you may have to come up for air. According to the Runcorn/Widnes Weekly News it will be open in February 2021,

They have found that the structure that supports the parapet is suffering from corrosion and beyond repair. How come the engineers did not see this while the scraping and painting was going on. Beemer.

[robaero]

It's probably the contractor wanted to fleece the Halton Council tax payers out of more of their hard earned cash, by not doing much in the first place thus prolonging the work.

[Deleted]

Nov 5, 2020 16:29:53 GMT 1 robaero said:

Nov 5, 2020 15:57:04 GMT 1 Beemer said:

For all those sitting with baited breath for the old Silver Jubilee Bridge to re-open then you may have to come up for air. According to the Runcorn/Widnes Weekly News it will be open in February 2021,

They have found that the structure that supports the parapet is suffering from corrosion and beyond repair. How come the engineers did not see this while the scraping and painting was going on. Beemer.

It's probably the contractor wanted to fleece the Halton Council tax payers out of more of their hard earned cash, by not doing much in the first place thus prolonging the work.

You have to wonder what goes on with these contracts where the public purse is involved, as robaero says. Why was this not spotted during the original survey? If you bought a house and then found that the foundations were dangerous, you could sue the surveyor to the Old Bailey and back.

Locally, there is a similar situation, but on a much smaller scale. They are electrifying the line between Leicester and St Pancras and the line passes close to my nearest large town, Wellingborough. There was a back road which crossed over the line by way of a one-way bridge. A survey was done and it was decided that a considerable amount of work would be needed to raise it so that the catenaries could be fitted. In their infinite wisdom, Notwork Rail (NR) (as my mate in the industry calls them), decided in late 2018 to remove it, clearly with no intention of replacing it. The local MPs got involved and forced them to replace it. NR went into major sulk mode and said it would be difficult and expensive (surprise surprise). They said they could not complete the work before mid-2020. Well mid 2020 has been and gone and NR have now said that because of high winds(!) and Covid 19, the opening of the bridge has been delayed until mid 2021! The amount of time civil engineering projects take in this country is a national scandal, but seems to pass by largely unnoticed. I cannot help but think that there is a very good reason for this...

[andyh]

Probably because actually most major infrastructure projects in the U.K. do complete on time and within budget - the Mersey Gateway Bridge is itself a case in point.

When it does go wrong it often does so spectacularly (Crossrail, anyone?) but that results in the whole industry getting tarred with the same poor reputation.

[Beemer]

it is with great pleasure to announce that the long awaited repairs to the Silver Jubilee Bridge will finally open at the end of this month.
It is down to two lanes plus a cycle path and pedestrians access and if you have a pass for the Mersey Gateway you can use that on the SJB.

This is a photo of the three bridges courtesy of Ian Cank Aerial Photography & Videography. The best bridge photo I have seen.


The Three Bridges by Ian Cank Aerial Photography & Videography.

[bulldog]

That is one of the best photos I have ever seen of the bridges.

[Beemer]

The SJB will open tomorrow afternoon 26th of February. The workmen will take down the barriers @ 15:00hrs and the Toll cameras will be switched on @ 16:00hrs. I did my daily exercise on the bridge to-day so I could see what it looked like and I was lucky enough to capture F-GXLH 2XL Beluga as it passed over head inbound Hawarden.


F-GXLH 2XL Beluga by Beemer328i, on Flickr

[vanguard]

Well done Brian,great shot 11/10

[hazard]

Well the bridge officially opened around 15:20ish today! have to say I'm glad to be able to use it once again!

Did a few runs over the bridge on the bike & they have done an amazing job on the surface!

[liverpoolman1]

The two tunnels in Liverpool plus the two bridges at Runcorn/Widnes are all tolled. The first free major crossing of the Mersey is at Warrington. This suppresses business growth in the Merseyside/Cheshire area. By contrast there are no tolls on any river crossing across the North. Why the local authorities did not unite and oppose the toll is beyond me. All river crossings in the UK should br free as they are part of the road network.
As has been said, Government sees tolls as a cash cow but forget the damage they do to local economies.

[Beemer]

Is it me or is it my camera playing tricks but I don't remember the Silver Jubilee bridge having a large hump in the middle like this.


SJ Bridge hump

[hazard]

It's always been like that as long as I can remember, even when pushing the bike over in bad weather!