Blackpool Work in Progress
The interregnum between New Year and Easter affords a timeframe for essential work on infrastructure. The replacement of Crossley's Bridge is a project well underway with completion hopefully by Easter. Traffic patterns have adjusted relatively well given the considerable disruption this major work is causing.
Now in the town centre Market Street has been blocked off to traffic to allow the Council's Operational team to reconfigure the bus stances. Angled bays are being marked out with adjustment to kerbs and presumably new shelters for the many services which traverse the street. A brief preview of work in progress behind fenced off road space. Empty former BHS store awaits new tenants on the right.
Blackpool North is seeing frequent arrivals of special contractor trains using the southern most terminal track. A COLAS Rail train was observed today with its bright yellow coaches complete with informative signage and two diesel engines - one at each end in a sort of push pull arrangement - or so it seemed. Fortuitously the track is sited next to the Sainsbury Petrol Station allowing close viewing of these impressive visits. Below : vintage? diesel power at Blackpool North.
Elsewhere in the town work at Foxhall Village has spilled over on to Blundell Street itself with excavation of the roadway to permit new water main and utilities to be installed ahead of the housing development extension to Tyldesley Road. This has
caused removal of the tramway track (partially) at certain points with the redundant sections neatly stacked on the pavement. Eventually the whole of Blundell Street will be developed with removal of all of the track that once was such an important aspect of the tramway infrastructure over many years. Below : Contractor marks indicated where further excavation is imminent on Blundell Street, while tramrail from current road work is finally waiting for the scrapman, its years of service at an end.
Blackpool's tranche of new double deck buses from ADL is imminent with a consequent withdrawal of older vehicles in their yellow and black livery, destined to be consigned to history within a few years. A poignant image of an example loading in Poulton concludes today's 'news' roundup.
