Network Rail has said high water levels and loose ground caused the further delays to the 100 tonne Brayford level crossing footbridge project, but they don’t anticipate any further problems.
As previously reported, the new delayed finish date for the project is Tuesday, May 14 with the road and the level crossing reopening the following day (Wednesday, May 15).
Brayford Wharf East was closed to traffic for six months until Monday, May 6. The crossing was also closed off for pedestrians in January with the finish date initially delayed until March 4 at the earliest, but these dates were both recently extended.
A team of 30 are on site directly associated with the construction. The team is now working double shifts to help ensure the work is finished in time, with a shift during the day and another in the evening.
Additional works
Deputy regional director for the infrastructure projects at Network Rail Rob Cairns told The Lincolnite: “We’ve introduced some additional work associated with the piling in order to make sure that the crane we intend to use to lift the bridges can be secure due to unforeseen ground conditions.
“We’ve always prepared for poor ground conditions by its nature with high water levels. As we’ve progressed we’ve found that we’ve had to install longer piles and that some of the piles have been damaged due to the ground conditions so it’s extra work to make sure that we can secure the lifting of the cranes.
“The delay was a surprise.
“The ground conditions that we’d prepared for was already quite conservative. We knew that by being next to the water we would have a high water table.
“We knew that we would have loose ground conditions. What we actually encountered was a level of poorness that would not normally be expected. We had running material within the excavation so we’ve had to perform some rework on the piles which wouldn’t be ordinarily expected.”
How the footbridge will look once it’s complete
Made in Scotland
The large structure, which was made in Glasgow, is currently being stored at Newark Showground and comes in three main sections – the span, the stairs and two concrete piers which act as vertical uprights.
It weighs around 100 tonnes and 65 metres from the step to the step.
There are three different lifts and three cranes being used to bring the bridge in. The biggest crane is 300 tonnes but the biggest span being lifted is by two separate 250 tonne cranes.
Spring construction
The bridge gets constructed or lifted in during the last weekend in March. Then in the first weekend in April the team use the time for completion work so it will be ready by the morning of May 15.
The work currently ongoing at the site. Photo: Joseph Verney for The Lincolnite
Remaining risk
Rob is confident this will be the final delay. He said: “It is a different scenario. This is a different team, it’s a different contractor, it’s a different Network Rail business. We do recognise and apologise for the disruption and thank residents for being so patient.
“The remaining risk we need to be careful for is high wind loadings so during the last weekend of March and the first weekend in April we have a large crane and we are doing a very large lift.
“That would be susceptible to high winds if we had winds above 20-25mph, that would be the only risk to completion that we would now be managing.”
Network Rail wouldn’t disclose the budget other than to say it is a “multi-million pound project”.
Rob added: “We don’t have a final figure yet for the adjusted works. We did start a little bit later for the planning so we are doing all that we can to mitigate the cost and manage the budget.”
The closure also limits some people’s easy to access lunch possibilities and when asked where the workers opt for, he said: “I’m not sure, but I’ve just seen somebody walking past with a BLT sandwich.”
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A 20-year-old man has been locked up for three years after starting a fire in care accommodation with a discarded cigarette.
Callum Lilliot, 20, dropped a cigarette on his coat which he then threw onto his bed at his care accommodation in Awdry Drive, Wisbech, at about 10pm on Boxing Day 2021.
Officers initially were called to the property when Lilliot threatened to jump out of a second-floor window, but arrived to find smoke coming from an open window.
An officer began to kick the door down through fears that people were inside, before a carer opened it with a key and police tried to tackle the fire themselves.
The officers were beaten back by smoke and heat, causing two of them to be hospitalised with smoke inhalation. Four residents and carers were evacuated as Lilliot was arrested a short time later.
He claimed the fire had been an accident as temporary accommodation had to be arranged for other residents, but that was not to be the last time that Christmastime he got himself in trouble with the police.
In a further incident on December 29, just three days later, Lilliot rang 999 to say he wanted to hurt staff at Peterborough’s Edith Cavell Centre by burning it down.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of arson with intent to endanger life, arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered, and threatening to damage or destroy property, during a hearing at Cambridge Crown Court on Wednesday, June 29.
Lilliot was sentenced to three years detention in a young offenders institution.
Detective Sergeant Lee Womak, who investigated, said: “Lilliot showed little regard for the safety of others when he decided to deliberately drop his cigarette on his coat and start a fire.
“I don’t need to explain why starting fires is so dangerous and I hope Lilliot will reflect on his actions and consider how tragic the consequences could have been.”
A judge has issued an apology to a Boston man who admitted drug dealing after his sentence hearing was postponed for a second time because of strike action by crown court barristers.
Stacey Housham, 42, has been warned to expect jail after he pleaded guilty to supplying cocaine and heroin to other users.
Housham was due to be sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court on June 9, but the hearing could not go-ahead because of protest action by defence barristers.
His case was postponed until July 5, however Judge John Pini QC was again forced to adjourn the sentence hearing after being told Housham’s barrister was unavailable because of strike action.
Housham, who attended the hearing by video-link, will now be sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court on July 27.
Judge Pini told Housham: “These are serious matters. I have read the papers and the pre-sentence report in detail.
“Quite plainly your barrister needs to be here before you can be sentenced.
“I am sorry about this. It is something completely out of my control.”
Housham pleaded guilty to four charges concerning Class A drugs when he appeared at Lincoln Crown Court in April.
He was due to be sentenced after the preparation of a report by the Probation Service.
A number of other cases at Lincoln Crown Court have been impacted by the nationwide strike action by the Criminal Bar Association. (CBA)
Eight out of 10 barristers voted for the walkouts amid concerns the Government will not improve a proposed increase in criminal Legal Aid.
Housham, who was of no fixed address at the time of his offences, and is formerly of Collingwood Crescent, Boston, admitted possessing both cocaine and heroin with intent to supply others on February 10, 2020.
He also pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and heroin to others between December 6, 2019, and February 11, 2020.
At a previous hearing the court heard Housham is now clean of drugs and has turned his life around.
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