A CONSTRUCTION operation is under way to replace a railway bridge on one of Cumbria’s most scenic routes.

The former road bridge that spanned the Cumbrian Coast Line railway near Aspatria was lifted out on Sunday morning with the help of an enormous green crane.

The bridge will be replaced in the coming weeks to complete the £1 million project.

The work is part of the Great North Rail Project. It is hoped it will make the footbridge more reliable for road users above and Cumbrian Coast Line passengers below.

Mark Evans, Network Rail senior programme manager, said: “Work to crane out an old road bridge over the Cumbrian Coast Line near Wigton was successful this weekend.

“The £1m Great North Rail Project investment will see a new bridge installed to make the railway crossing more reliable for road users above and rail passengers below for generations to come.”

Network Rail is also producing a time-lapse video of the work, which will be released when the new bridge has been lowered into place.

The work forms part of the Great North Rail Project, a multi-billion pound package of improvements for rail customers across the North of England.

It forms part of a national effort to improve the country’s congested railways, and will enable 2,000 extra services each week and allow 40,000 more passengers to travel each day. Network rail say the project will benefit train customers, local communities, businesses and the economy as a whole

The project also includes the replacement of the “Siddick” railway bridge in Workington, again for the benefit of passengers and road users.

On February 5, a new footbridge was installed alongside the existing road bridge.

A 108-tonne railway-mounted crane was used to lift the new 18,8 metre bridge deck into place while trains weren’t running.

The new ramped footbridge will accommodate vital cables and pipes for services and utilities which are being diverted from the existing bridge — allowing for its demolition in spring.

The bridge will open to the public in April, the same month the existing road bridge will close and a temporary road crossing over the railway will be opened.

It is expected the new, improved road bridge will open to the public in June.