Commissioned in November 2017, the Ordsall Chord viaduct directly connects Manchester's Piccadilly and Victoria railway stations for the first time; reducing rail congestion, allowing new services to be introduced, and forecast to create over £4bn of subsequent economic benefit. A deteriorated span of the existing Grade Ⅱ listed 1845 Castlefield Viaduct required strengthening to accommodate a new alignment of rail tracks to be borne by the structure in conjunction with viaduct's 'widening', (construction of a new viaduct extension at one side to increase the width of the deck), to allow branching onto the Chord. This paper provides an account of the key design issues which were overcome in order to generate an effective strengthening solution. The benefits of a collaborative approach to working form a recurring theme throughout the narrative.
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