Trinity Way - Ordsall Chord

The £85m Ordsall Chord Project is a new railway line connecting Manchester’s two main stations, Piccadilly Station and Victoria Station, for the very first time. The new 300m long track incorporates a stunning new viaduct to carry the line over the River Irwell, Bridgewater Canal and the Manchester Inner Ring Road (Trinity Way).

To facilitate the construction, the Inner Ring Road had to be diverted “off-line” so that the foundations and viaduct structure could be constructed. Bethell were contracted to undertake the considerable temporary highway diversion over a 0.5km stretch of the dual carriageway and then, twelve months later, re-construct Trinity Way once the viaduct structure was completed

The temporary diversion and permanent reconstruction involved laying 2,500 tonnes of macadam and hot rolled asphalt plus the installation of kerbs, footpath paving, crash barrier to central reserve, highway drainage and road markings, signage and temporary traffic management. A significant amount of the work was carried out during night time and at weekends to ensure that traffic flows on the busy commuter route remained unaffected.