North Lanarkshire Council and Network Rail are to replace the bridge deck on Bellside Bridge at Cleland to raise the height and prevent it being damaged by high-sided vehicles.
The railway bridge, on the A73, is the most frequently struck bridge in Scotland and the seventh most struck in the UK. When a vehicle strikes the bridge, the road and rail line must be closed while an inspection is carried out and traffic diverted through the village.
“We have been working with Network Rail for some time to identify how to remove the height restriction at Bellside Bridge, so it is excellent news that a solution has been found,” said Nicole Paterson, NLC’s head of environmental assets.
“This will prevent the disruption caused when a high-sided vehicle strikes the bridge, both to the rail line and to residents in Cleland when traffic is diverted through the village.”
Work is to be carried out to replace the existing bridge deck with a thinner one, which will provide additional headroom under the bridge.
This will remove its classification as a low bridge and the need for a signed diversion route through Cleland for high-side vehicles.
Stewart Lothian, Network Rail’s structures asset manager for Scotland, said: “Vehicles striking bridges is a major cause of delay on Scotland’s railway and also costs around half-a-million pounds each year in avoidable costs.
“This bridge is the most bashed in the country and has been struck 56 times over the last decade causing over 3,000 minutes of delay to trains.
“We are pleased to have been able to work with North Lanarkshire Council to find a long-term solution to this problem which will improve performance and enhance safety on our railway.”
The work is planned to take place in October and will be funded jointly by the council and Network Rail.
The A73 will have to be closed while the work is carried out but it will deliver a permanent solution to the problem of bridge strikes.
Cleland councillor Louise Roarty said: “I am delighted that after seven years of hard work, the railway bridge is finally being raised.
“I have been working with Network Rail and the council’s environmental design and engineering team for some time on a solution as my constituents are all too aware of the distress and delay these incidents cause.
“I’m thrilled that we now have the result our community needs and look forward to the bridge finally losing the accolade of the most struck railway bridge in Scotland.”
