THE new bridge over the railway line at Thornton Road in East Kilbride has been opened today.
Network Rail and Story began work on the new crossing in December, with it forming part of the £140 million Scottish Government investment in the East Kilbride enhancement project to decarbonise passenger services.
The project involved the original Thornton Road bridge being demolished over the Christmas period, with the project team delivering the new crossing by craning six precast concrete units into place that weighed up to 35-tonnes.
Thornton Road bridge’s completion comes following the new footbridge near Hairmyres Railway Station opening last month, with the crossings being one of several along the East Kilbride to Glasgow railway corridor being raised to provide more space underneath, with it allowing for engineers to install the required overhead line equipment so that electric trains can run on the route.
Simon Humble, Network Rail’s project manager for the bridge works, said, “The team’s made incredible progress since starting the bridge replacement works towards the end of last year. This hasn’t been without its challenges given the very wet and windy weather, particularly over the last few weeks.
“The re-opening of Thornton Road represents an important milestone on the enhancement project overall, as it marks the final element of our bridge replacement works in East Kilbride.
“I would like to thank the community for their patience both during the delivery of this work and the on-going activity across the wider route.”
