Hundreds of railway engineers have completed the first main phase to replace an important road junction over the Manchester-spur of the West Coast Main Line in Stockport.
The Greek Street roundabout sits on top of a railway bridge which, at 67 years old, now needs to be completely replaced.
Last month, the roundabout and parts of nearby roads were closed to all traffic for one year, but this Easter saw an accompanying full railway closure so demolition of the old structure could begin.
Network Rail and its contractor Murphy worked throughout the four-day bank holiday on tasks which set the huge £20m project up for success when the old bridge is fully removed and new one craned into place this August.
Today (Tuesday 22 April), Network Rail released behind-the-scenes footage showing some of the vital preparations from track level for the first time.
The work saw:
- Overhead lines which power trains being assessed and mapped so detailed plans can be drawn up when they need to come down in Summer
- The bridge parapets and ‘wing walls’ at street level demolished
- Removal of concrete block work under the bridge
- Test drilling to prepare the method which will be used for the bridge removal.
Workforce safety and the sheer scale of the project meant that no trains could run through Stockport during the bank holiday weekend.
This morning the route reopened for passengers and railway bosses are thanking those affected for their patience.
Patrick Vallely, Network Rail Capital Delivery head of buildings and civils, said: “This is a hugely complicated project for both road and rail – with one of Stockport’s key traffic roundabouts sitting above one of the busiest railway junctions in Greater Manchester. Our teams worked night and day over Easter and made great progress for future phases of the bridge rebuild, while making sure the railway reopened on time for passengers.
“We couldn’t have done this work without closing the road and railway, and I’d like to thank anyone whose travel plans were impacted by our major work over Easter for their patience. This is all part of our multi-million-pound ‘Strengthening Stockport’ investment to improve this critical infrastructure for decades to come.”
With road diversions in place throughout 2025, Network Rail has a dedicated web page with the latest information for both residents, road users and rail passengers – www.networkrail.co.uk/greekstreet.
It’s also running its ‘Strengthening Stockport’ campaign to raise awareness ahead of a full three-week railway closure between Saturday 2 and Saturday 23 August.
While there won’t be any more railway closures relating to this project until the summer, rail passengers are being advised of other essential upgrades on the West Coast Main Line over the Early May Bank Holiday in just under two weeks.
This includes the closure of Euston station on Sunday 4 and Monday 5 May, and the route north of Preston.
Passengers are advised to plan their journeys in advance by checking National Rail Enquiries at www.nationalrail.co.uk.
Image credit: Network Rail
