A new bridge now crosses a motorway in the UK

A new 240tonne bridge has now been installed over the M54 as part of a major overnight engineering operation. The single-span bridge, which stretches 45m over the motorway, is part of wider plans to develop a site in South Staffordshire. To allow engineers to winch the giant structure in safely, both carriageways between junctions 2 and 3 were closed on Saturday, November 3rd. Bridge sections were delivered to a near compound early in the summer where it was pieced together. Just after 11.30pm on Saturday,
November 5, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A new 240tonne bridge has now been installed over the M54 as part of a major overnight engineering operation. The single-span bridge, which stretches 45m over the motorway, is part of wider plans to develop a site in South Staffordshire. To allow engineers to winch the giant structure in safely, both carriageways between junctions 2 and 3 were closed on Saturday, November 3rd. Bridge sections were delivered to a near compound early in the summer where it was pieced together. Just after 11.30pm on Saturday, crews began gently lifting the bridge over the floodlit motorway carriage way. The motorway was reopened at 10am on Sunday 4th November.

The new bridge will replace an existing bridge in Middle Lane, which needs to be moved to allow access to the business park, and will be used for access to wastewater treatment works and as a footpath and bridleway. It will be used for construction traffic over the next few months and will be open to members of the public next year.

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