Oxford Road closure for bridge demolition – Week 3
20 Aug 2015
You may have noticed that there's no longer a bridge across Oxford Road!
Since the bridge was demolished on the night of Saturday, 15 August, the focus has been on removing the demolition material as quickly and as safely as possible. Following this, the team will remove all the material that has protected the road, pavements and adjacent buildings and of course staff, students and the public.
The very large compound which has accommodated all the machines, equipment and personnel necessary to demolish the bridge will reduce in size over the next few days.
Looking forward over the next week or so, attention is now focused on repairing the holes left by the bridge in the facades to Crawford House and the Precinct. Crawford House is being bricked up to match the existing façade treatment, whereas the Precinct façade receives a temporary repair of metal cladding until the main MBS Refurbishment works start in 2016.
Oxford Road is still on schedule to re-open no later than 6am on Monday, 7 September.
The Directorate of Estates and Facilities would like to thank their contractor Vinci Construction and their demolition sub-contractor Bradley Demolition for their diligence and hard work over last weekend in demolishing the bridge safely.
They’d also like to thank our staff and students and members of the public for their interest, support and patience whilst the bridge demolition work was carried out and during the ongoing closure of Oxford Road.
Pedestrian and cycle access
Pedestrian access is only restricted to the area of the demolition zone around and under the bridge. There will be no pedestrian access under the bridge, on the Crawford House side of Oxford Road, for the four week period of the road closure. There will be no pedestrian access under the bridge, on the Precinct side of Oxford Road, from 15 – 17 August. Outside these dates, there will be limited pedestrian access along the front of the Precinct retail units. Alternative pedestrian routes will be signposted at appropriate points on Oxford Road.
Cycle access is only restricted to the area of the demolition zone around and under the bridge, and there will be no cycle access under the bridge for the four week period of the road closure. Alternative cycle routes will be signposted at appropriate points on Oxford Road. Cyclists are requested to not use the pedestrian access under the bridge, and use the designated alternative routes.
Vehicle and bus diversions
Vehicular traffic and bus route diversions will be in place, and will be the same as during the first road closure in June. The main diversionary route follows Hathersage Road, Upper Brook Street and Booth Street East, and will be used by the following bus services:
- 18, 38, 41, 42, 43, 44, 142, 143, 145 (In,) 157, X41, X57, 141, 191 and 197
An alternative diversion will run along Moss Lane East, Lloyd Street North, Higher Cambridge Street and Booth Street West – this will be used by the following bus services:
- 15, 53 and 111
Download a map:
147 bus diversion
This differs slightly from the other bus route diversions and will be as follows:
- From Piccadilly Station:
Normal route as far as Booth St East where the buses will turn left, then right onto Upper Brook Street, right onto Dover Street and left onto Oxford Road at the Student Union where they will follow the existing route into the Hospitals Complex. - From Hospitals:
Exit The Boulevard onto Hathersage Road, then left onto Upper Brook Street where the buses will travel most of its length up to Grosvenor Street. Turning left into Grosvenor Street and right onto Oxford Road at All Saints where the buses will follow the normal route to Piccadilly Station.
The latest updates for the 147 service are online at:
Further information
- Contact James Boland, Project Manager, Directorate of Estates and Facilities, atjames.boland@manchester.ac.ukor 0161 306 5571 (extn 65571)
or - Visit Transport for Greater Manchester
Further updates will be provided as the works progress.