New Highland Mainline Bridge at Moy

[haggishunter]

A good selection of photos of the new bridge that's going into the Highland Mainline for access to Lynebeg as part of the preparatory work for the A9 dualling Tomatin and Moy section the south of inverness. You can toggle back and fore through them from here:

Lynebeg rail bridge replacement

As part of advance work on the A9 Dualling between Tomatin and Moy Network Rail are replacing a bridge under the Highland Main Line near Moy, which will form the new access to Lybebeg,

www.flickr.com

The bridge has been assembled on the opposite side of the old A9 to the Railway and is set to be moved into place on the weekend of 27th/28th November. At this stage it's looking as there could well be decidedly cold and potentially snowy conditions then with the GFS forecast model ensembles overwhelmingly favouring cold conditions with the ensemble mean 7ºc below the long term mean for that weekend!

The bridge which carries the A9 over the HML slightly North of the Lynebeg bridge is also to be replaced as part of the main dualling works contract for this stretch which is currently out to tender.

 

[snowball]

There's also an NR press release about that bridge:

Bridge demolition at Lynebeg, Inverness

Network Rail will shortly demolish the existing bridge under the Highland Mainline railway at Lynebeg, near Inverness, and replace it with a new structure. It is part of the advance works for the A9 Dualling: Tomatin to Moy project.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

Network Rail will shortly demolish the existing bridge under the Highland Mainline railway at Lynebeg, near Inverness, and replace it with a new structure. It is part of the advance works for the A9 Dualling: Tomatin to Moy project.

Continuous 24 hour working from 23.20 Friday 26 until 05.40 Tuesday 30 November will see the demolition of the existing structure and the installation of a new bridge – which has already been constructed nearby.

The new bridge will strengthen, safeguard, and futureproof this section of the Highland Mainline. It will also support the upgrading of the roads surrounding the railway and the creation of improved road junctions as part of future A9 dualling works.

With the Highland Mainline closed to enable these works on Saturday 27th, Sunday 28th and Monday 29th November, train services will be impacted on these dates. Passengers are advised to plan-ahead and contact National Rail Enquiries for more details.

 

[Stathern Jc]

Perspective can be deceptive. But from a distance the new bridge does look as if it might be a little wider than the old one.
It would be nice to be able to think that the word "Dualling" might not just be used in connection with the A9 and that significant works on the line which happen to facilitate the road upgrade could all allow scope for that as well as electrification where necessary.

p.s. Got a shock for a moment when I saw the title of this thread. Probably not the only person whose mind went to the bridge at the other end of the village.

 

[haggishunter]

Yellow warning for snow and an Amber warning for wind covering the area this work is taking place in during Friday in to Saturday!

 

[Kingston Dan]

Perspective can be deceptive. But from a distance the new bridge does look as if it might be a little wider than the old one.
It would be nice to be able to think that the word "Dualling" might not just be used in connection with the A9 and that significant works on the line which happen to facilitate the road upgrade could all allow scope for that as well as electrification where necessary.

Absolutely - but is that happening?

 

[Stathern Jc]

Wishful thinking I suppose.

 

[option]

Perspective can be deceptive. But from a distance the new bridge does look as if it might be a little wider than the old one.
It would be nice to be able to think that the word "Dualling" might not just be used in connection with the A9 and that significant works on the line which happen to facilitate the road upgrade could all allow scope for that as well as electrification where necessary.

p.s. Got a shock for a moment when I saw the title of this thread. Probably not the only person whose mind went to the bridge at the other end of the village.

Better images here.

A9 Dualling Project, Inverness | Murform - Concrete Formwork Contractor - UK & Ireland

A9 Dualling Project, Moy Inverness BAM Nuttal Construction of a precast railway bridge in Moy Inverness as part of the early works for the A9 dualling project, for BAM Nuttall and Network Rail. A site adjacent to the replacement bridge was utilised for the construction phase and during a weekend...

murform.com

It does look like it's near enough square, which would make the rail part as wide as the new roadway.

 

[Bald Rick]

I would be astonished if it wasn’t twin track capable.

 

[haggishunter]

I would be astonished if it wasn’t twin track capable.

No guarantee that what was being said at community engagement events were always 100% correct!

However on more than one occasion asked about digital mock-ups of the new A9 bridge over the railway the explanation for full replacement was the existing bridge was single track and the replacement would be wider and higher meeting electrification clearances and double tracking.

 

[swt_passenger]

There’s some good photos of the bridge build linked in post #7, scaling from the bloke in orange in one of the photos I reckon the total width across the road is 14-15 metres. As others have already said it also looks almost square in plan. It’ll be much wider than the minimum required for two tracks.


Newly updated info Mon 29th…

I would be astonished if it wasn’t twin track capable.

I’ve found a detailed drawing of the bridge, as can be seen there is a future second track location marked:

https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/42113/figure-511-lynebeg-rail-underpass-indicative-arrangement.pdf

 

[Bald Rick]

There’s some good photos of the bridge build linked in post #7, scaling from the bloke in orange in one of the photos I reckon the total width across the road is 14-15 metres. As others have already said it also looks almost square in plan. It’ll be much wider than the minimum required for two tracks.


Newly updated info Mon 29th…


I’ve found a detailed drawing of the bridge, as can be seen there is a future second track location marked:

https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/42113/figure-511-lynebeg-rail-underpass-indicative-arrangement.pdf

Well discovered sir. Not too happy with that height restriction sign ....

 

[swt_passenger]

Well discovered sir. Not too happy with that height restriction sign ....

Yes, and it‘s slightly surprising they’re going for a new limited headroom bridge, somewhere in the reports I found the intended road headroom is just 4.3 metres (“accommodating most common vehicle sizes that access the Moy area”).

Do you think that might be to avoid a low point in the new road, which is at the bottom of a hill but constrained with respect to the tee junction with the existing through route?

 

[option]

It's got greater clearance than the existing/old bridge, not only is it slightly higher, but it's also a flat deck & not an arch.
The B9154 can be accessed less than 1.5m south, so won't be an issue.

 

[Bald Rick]

Yes, and it‘s slightly surprising they’re going for a new limited headroom bridge, somewhere in the reports I found the intended road headroom is just 4.3 metres (“accommodating most common vehicle sizes that access the Moy area”).

Do you think that might be to avoid a low point in the new road, which is at the bottom of a hill but constrained with respect to the tee junction with the existing through route?

I don’t know. Not sure why the bridge is being built in any event!

 

[swt_passenger]

I don’t know. Not sure why the bridge is being built in any event!

I think it’s needed because the next junction south will only connect to the southbound carriageway of the dualled A9. The main idea must be to remove all the gaps in the central reservation.

Supplementary question though, did the work go ahead despite the weather?

 

[Bald Rick]

I think it’s needed because the next junction south will only connect to the southbound carriageway of the dualled A9. The main idea must be to remove all the gaps in the central reservation.

Sussed it. It is currently a little used track, but will in future be the main access for Moy to / from the A9 northbound, and also the main route for access to Lynebeg / Lynemore without having to use the A9.

 

[swt_passenger]

Can I ask here what is a general question about this method of bridge construction? Well before they demolish the existing bridge, do they do a detailed investigation of the ground conditions below the footprint of the new bridge “pads” or “ feet”?

Having looked at a few videos of other similar structures being installed it seems the new bridge just stands on well compacted and levelled fill material, as do the preformed “wing walls”. What I’m thinking is that the foundations are effectively much simpler than what you’d possibly expect for an ordinary building. IYSWIM…

 

[MadMac]

Can I ask here what is a general question about this method of bridge construction? Well before they demolish the existing bridge, do they do a detailed investigation of the ground conditions below the footprint of the new bridge “pads” or “ feet”?

Having looked at a few videos of other similar structures being installed it seems the new bridge just stands on well compacted and levelled fill material, as do the preformed “wing walls”. What I’m thinking is that the foundations are effectively much simpler than what you’d possibly expect for an ordinary building. IYSWIM…

Didn’t one get stuck while being slid in near Bristol in the relatively recent past?

 

[swt_passenger]

Didn’t one get stuck while being slid in near Bristol in the relatively recent past?

Yes but that was a problem with the ground the transporters were running over while on the route between the build position and the installation, not a problem with the foundations as such.

New info Wed 1st


BAM Nuttall video of the weekend’s work is now available on YouTube:

New info Thur 2nd

A Network Rail version of the bridge installation story. The article includes a video with the same aerials as yesterday, but a different commentator/voiceover:

Despite the impact of Strom Arwen, Network Rail has successfully demolished and replaced the bridge over the railway at Lynebeg, south of Inverness on the Highland Mainline between Perth and Inverness. It’s part of supporting work ahead of the dualling of the A9 between Tomatin and Moy.

In continuous working across 78 hours from Friday night until Tuesday morning, the 1884 Victorian masonry structure was demolished and replaced with 660ton twin-track concrete box structure.

The construction team used a Self-Propelled Modular Transporter (SPMT) system to carry the structure from the site compound, where it was constructed offline over a 10-week period, before manoeuvring the massive 660-ton structure several hundred meters along the B1954 and sliding it to its final position.

Two 750-ton cranes then lifted seven concrete wingwalls, which were also constructed on site, into position. Before the railway was fully reinstated and checked ahead of re-opening to traffic early on Tuesday morning (30 November).

Lynebeg rail bridge successfully installed on Highland Mainline

Despite the impact of Strom Arwen, Network Rail has successfully demolished and replaced the bridge over the railway at Lynebeg, south of Inverness on the Highland Mainline between Perth and Inverness. It’s part of supporting work ahead of the dualling of the A9 between Tomatin and Moy.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk