Summary
They said give us until 6am on Monday but, in the event, specialised hit squads sent in by National HIghways completed the task of removing the Uphill Court and Grove Court bridges in just 46 hours – shaving a welcome NINE hours off the planned closure.
Details
The quick work meant that by 9pm last night (Sunday, October 18) Gloucestershire’s heaviest-used highway was once back open in both directions to traffic after the government agency said the job(s) – originally flagged on October 8 and outlined in detail last Tuesday – went like clockwork.
National HIghways said: “The motorway was closed between junctions 11 (Cheltenham) and 12 (Gloucester) from 11pm on Friday to enable the demolition of the two 64-year-old structures at Uphill Court and Grove Court.” The statement added: “Following enabling works and the mobilisation of plant and equipment through the early hours of Saturday, the two bridges, both 69 metres in length, were dismantled by high-reach excavators during the day.
In all, 440 tonnes of concrete and 14 tonnes of steel tendons were removed from the carriageway during the demolition operation.” Alongside the actual demolition and materials to be shifted off-site, plant logistics were a major consideration, with key provisions including container flow and protective crash mats to ensure the work had no literal impact on the highway.
And with the bridges finally down, full reinstatement of the central reservation and nearside safety barriers had to dovetail into the timeframe. Despite all this though, the bollards were being counted back in by 8.30pm on Sunday, with both northbound and southbound carriageways fully flowing again within the following hour.
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Despite the good news, one caveat remains: along with the slip roads at Junction 11 and Junction 12 , Junction 11A will remain closed through this week, so as to remove materials and demobilise the works compound.
Terry Robinson, NH’s South West Engineering Lead , said the teams had worked extremely hard over the weekend, adding: “It’s pleasing to be able to open well ahead of the scheduled completion time.” He said: “We appreciate the closure will have affected motorists’ journeys in and around Gloucester over the weekend and we thank people for their patience while we carried out this essential safety work.” As previously reported, any timescale for the replacement of the clapped-out bridges remains foggy: National Highways said the job will happen in the coming years, but Punchline understands that the finding window for any such work is five years.
With no ‘concrete’ statement being offered by the authority, it looks like to bridges will be back in place before 2031. Whether the shorter closure for the weekend project establishes a record appears unlikely: that stat appears to have been set by work to facilitate the HS2 project when the A452 Bridge over the M42 at Solihull was erased back in August 2023.
What You Need to Know
Despite the good news, one caveat remains: along with the slip roads at Junction 11 and Junction 12 , Junction 11A will remain closed through this week, so as to remove materials and demobilise the works compound.
