Stockport's railway network will re-open on Saturday 23 August, after a massive engineering project on Greek Street nears completion.

Trains through Stockport and nearby stations have been closed since 2 August, as engineers work to replace the Greek Street Roundabout bridge.

Although there is still more work to do on the road surface, the bridge itself has almost been replaced, with the last of the beams now being lowered.

The large steel and concrete beams were driven by special police escort from a storage site at Trafford Park and craned into position in a carefully choreographed sequence over a four-day period. 

It means that the nearby railways can re-open as planned on 23 August, in time for the bank holiday weekend.

Network Rail has been carrying out the works with its contractor Murphy, with 100 engineers working around the clock day by day.

The beams were lowered into place by two cranes, with a combined capacity of 1,300 tonnes (Image - Network Rail)

This 21-day period has been described as "the main phase" of the £20m to overhaul Greek Street bridge in Stockport. 

The old bridge had reached the end of its natural life and so needed to be replaced. The new structure which engineers have installed is expected to last a further 120 years.

William Brandon, Network Rail's project manager, said: "The work at Greek Street has been planned meticulously, and its great to see it all come together on site as we expected. I'm so grateful to everyone working so hard on the project  

"Once the railway reopens, journeys for passengers will be safer and more reliable for the next 120 years. This truly is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve the West Coast Main Line for future generations. I'd like to thank local people for their patience while the project continues, and to passengers whose journeys have been affected over the last few weeks." 

The first new beam being lifted into place (Image - Network Rail)

Stephen Harnett, Murphy project manager, said: "It's immensely rewarding to complete this core milestone of the project. The effort put in by our team has been nothing short of amazing as they work around the clock to upgrade and return this critical piece of infrastructure to the local community."

Lisa Magee, Avanti West Coast station manager at Stockport, said: "It's great to see the work to Greek Street bridge is progressing nicely, as the project reaches this latest milestone. We'd like to thank our customers for their continued patience and understanding while the West Coast Main Line is closed and remind those who are making journeys up to and including 22 August to plan ahead, check the National Rail website before travelling, and leave plenty of time." 

Cllr Grace Baynham, Cabinet Member of Parks, Highways and Transport Services, said: "We're continuing to work closely with our partners to support our local residents and businesses every step of the way as Network Rail delivers the essential improvements Stockport needs. 

"I want to thank residents and businesses for their continued patience and resilience - we know it hasn't been easy, but the way people have responded to the disruption so far really shows the strength of our community." 

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