Express rail work to be completed by bypass team5th May 2011

WORK to divert a popular stretch of mainline railway track will be carried out this weekend by engineers building the £35m Porthmadog bypass.

During the work a 450m section of track will be moved by 30m at its apex to make way for the new road. The Cambrian Coast mainline is due to re-open on the morning of Monday, May 9.
The feat of engineering will be completed within 54 hours. It will represent the latest milestone in one of the biggest construction projects currently under way in Wales.

Workers from the bypass joint venture partnership of Balfour Beatty and Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK will be carrying out the re-alignment work near Minffordd quarry.

Hefin Lloyd-Davies, partnership deputy project manager, said: “This weekend will mark the culmination of months of preparatory work.

“We will be tying in the new stretch of track at either end and handing the line back to Arriva Trains Wales ready for normal service to resume on Monday.

“Efforts have been made to minimise travel disruption, and we would like to thank rail passengers and the wider public in advance for their patience and co-operation.”

A wall will separate the bypass and Cambrian Coast mainline. The long-awaited Porthmadog, Minffordd and Tremadog bypass is being built for the Welsh Assembly Government.

The new section of the A487 carriageway will improve journey times, ease congestion and significantly improve environmental conditions by enabling current through traffic to bypass Porthmadog and the two villages.

Rail services will be suspended between Harlech and Pwllheli from 11pm on Friday, May 6 to 6am on Monday, May 9.

Replacement bus services will run throughout the weekend.