Hackney Downs railway bridge reopens after 150-year-old structure replaced

Work to replace a 150-year old bridge over the railway near Hackney Downs station has been completed and the bridge ropened to road traffic.

An impression of the bridge from above (c) Network Rail

During the summer, the railway had to be closed for 16 days to allow intensive works to take place on the bridge, affecting London Overground Weaver line, Greater Anglia and Stansted Express services.

Engineers needed this time to demolish the old bridge and start building the new structure.

Since the railway reopened, lots of complex work has been completed to finish the project and get the roads that it carries reopened. As planned, Downs Park Road reopened just before Christmas, and Bodney Road reopened to pedestrians and cyclists on Friday 24th January.

Network Rail carried out the work with its contractor, Murphy.

During the demolition phase of the project (c) Network Rail

Simon Milburn, Network Rail Anglia’s infrastructure director, said: “Thank you so much to passengers and the local community for bearing with us while we got this job done on time. Thousands of people travel under and over this bridge every day by rail and road, and our project was vital to keeping their future journeys safe and reliable. The new bridge is expected to last for more than a century.”

The new bridge is designed to last for 120 years – so put a note in your grandchildren’s diary for 2144 for the next closure.