Work starts on new £6m pedestrian bridge at airport

Airport bridge

Work on a new £6m pedestrian and cycle bridge close to Manchester Airport is under way.

The new bridge will cross the M56 motorway spur road at Airport City Manchester.

Spanning 52.5 meters and featuring weathering Cor-Ten steel, the bridge is a major piece of infrastructure development that will enable future phases of Airport City Manchester.

The work follows on from the completion of the £15m Enterprise Way that connects the site to the wider transport network.

The new bridge will create a vital link between the main development areas of the Airport City project, which includes the 1m sq ft campus for The Hut Group, hotel district and a variety of office schemes.

It will also link the site to the airport’s transport interchange and terminals, as well as providing direct access to pedestrians and cyclists travelling to and from Wythenshawe and the wider local area.

It will provide a new, iconic visual “marker” for Airport City, the plans also include extensive landscaping and public realm, designed to be accessible to all, with feature ramps and passenger lifts.

Jonathan Haigh, managing director of MAG Property and Airport City JV Partner, said: “Following the completion of Enterprise Way, the new bridge is the next critical piece of infrastructure that will become a catalyst for the delivery of the new £180m hotel district, The Hut Group campus and approved speculative offices; delivering the Airport City Manchester vision, unlocking the potential for development and job creation across the entirety of the 73 acre site.”

Mike Kane, MP for Wythenshawe and Sale East, said: “This is fantastic news for Airport City Manchester and will open up the development site for forthcoming developments and importantly the transport network.

“This is also a huge step forward in opening-up new jobs and opportunities and building the economic and regenerative potential of this site for Wythenshawe and beyond. Currently, the two existing routes from the Ground Transport Interchange to Wythenshawe involve crossing points across high speed and heavy volume dual carriageway roads.

“This new pedestrian-dedicated route will ensure much better access to the excellent and wide-reaching coach, bus, Metrolink and train services that are currently on the doorstep for residents and businesses in Wythenshawe.”

Dongwen Yu, lead director, of contractor BCEGI, said: “We are delighted to be appointed as the main contractor to deliver the new bridge at Airport City Manchester. This project will deliver a landmark structure for the scheme – and it will help transform pedestrian and cyclist access to the site, and with other major infrastructure now in place, ensures the plots are truly ‘development-ready’ for prospective occupiers.

“We are proud of our role in helping bring Airport City Manchester as a construction and JV partner and we are confident that this is just the start of what a become a huge success story for the region.”

Designed by architects 5Plus, planning approval was granted in December 2018 by the local planning authority, Manchester City Council.

Construction is set to take nine months and will be complete in August 2020.

The commencement of construction work on the new bridge follows the announcement by The Hut Group, one of the world’s largest online beauty and wellbeing businesses, which agreed a major deal to develop 1 million sq ft of office space as well as studio space in the North West, including the new THQ business campus at Airport City.

Planning permission for two new 92,000 sq ft office building and multi-story car park has also been approved, which will help to meet future demand, as well as addressing the lack of supply of Grade A office accommodation in the city region.

A new £180 million ‘hotel district’ at Airport City will also deliver in the region of 1,500 new beds by 2021, with four new hotels set to open at the site.

 

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