New bridge milestone for Midland Metro at Snow Hill station

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The landmark £3.19m bridge which will take the Midland Metro into the heart of Birmingham has been completed.

The bridge over Great Charles Street Queensway is a key part of the Metro extension which will take the line to New Street station.

Centro, the integrated passenger transport authority for the West Midlands, began work on the bridge within days of the Government giving the go-ahead in October.

It will bring Metro services off the existing approach to Snow Hill station and over a £9 million viaduct – constructed as a contribution by developer Ballymore. From there it will go through the city centre to New Street station.

The extension will revolutionise the way people travel to and around the city, giving a fast link between Birmingham’s two major rail stations while delivering more than 3.5 million passengers a year right into the heart of the city’s shopping district.

Centro chief executive Geoff Inskip said: “This is fantastic news for the Midland Metro and for the people who use it, especially as it has come in on time and on budget.

“This is a major step forward for a scheme that is going to bring massive economic benefits for the entire region and create thousands of jobs.”

Built by contractors Balfour Beatty, the new structure utilises a former rail bridge abutment and pier and lands on the new viaduct alongside Snow Hill Station.

Design work for the on-street section of the Metro extension is underway and preliminary site works are expected to commence in 2012.

The Metro currently runs from Wolverhampton to Snow Hill station.

Under the extension, trams will follow a route from the existing Metro terminus at Snow Hill, along the viaduct built by Ballymore, down Upper Bull Street and Corporation Street then on to Stephenson Street before stopping outside a new entrance at New Street Station.

The route will also provide a fast link from New Street Station to the emerging business district at Snow Hill and serve as a platform for a future rapid transit network that can connect and feed into proposed High Speed Rail terminus in Eastside.

The total cost of the scheme is £127m with £55m of that paying for the 13km long extension.

Centro’s plans to extend the Metro will create 1,300 sustainable new jobs and boost the West Midlands economy by £50m a year as a fleet of new, bigger trams increase passenger capacity between Birmingham and the Black Country.

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