A new footbridge was hoisted into place over the East Coast Main Line at the weekend as part of the redevelopment of Westgate station in Wakefield. Graeme Bickerdike reports
Engineers used a 500-tonne crane to position the span, complete with its distinctive golden cladding, alongside the station’s steel frame which was assembled last month.
The only step-free access from the current station building to the Leeds-bound platform is by means of a barrow crossing. However, lifts are being installed allowing passengers with heavy luggage and mobility problems to use the bridge when the new £8.8 million station opens in November.
Delivery agent East Coast has appointed Network Rail as principal contractor for the project, with the Buckingham Group acting as the latter’s design-and-build subcontractor.
The new station forms part of Wakefield’s ongoing regeneration and East Coast sees the approach taken there as a blueprint for what could be achieved elsewhere, delivering social and economic value from redundant railway land.
