Video | Skanska receives huge steel beams for new Penrith railway bridge

Skanska has overseen the delivery of five huge ‘VIBs’ (very important beams) that will be used for major sections of a replacement railway bridge over the M6 next year.

The contractor is delivering the £60m project for Network Rail to replace Clifton railway bridge near Penrith after the old bridge reached the end of its life after 60 years.

The new three-span structure will measure 130m in length and weigh approximately 3,000t.  

The parts have been pre-fabricated in Glasgow and are ready to be assembled on an adjacent purpose-built work site.

Rosario Barcena, Skanska’s rail programme director, said: “We’ve had fantastic collaboration on this project, including with Network Rail, National Highways, local authorities and our supply chain partners.

“To see the first steels arriving on site is a massive achievement. Our expert team is now very much focused on building the new bridge off site and planning for its installation in early January.”