£48m transport interchange taking shape
WORK is progressing on the £48m Bolton Interchange with comletion due late this year.
The steelwork and pre-cast concrete work is now complete and concrete to complete the bus apron, where buses will operate on the facility, has been added.
Work has also started on the steelwork required to support the bus concourse’s Ethylene Tetra Fluoro Ethylene (ETFE) roof.
ETFE is a lightweight and highly translucent alternative to glass which enables natural light to penetrate into the centre of the building and reduces the requirement for artificial lighting.
The same material was used for the roofs on Interchanges at Rochdale and Altrincham as well as Victoria Rail Station in Manchester.
The bus concourse building will provide a modern, accessible and sheltered environment for passengers to obtain information and wait for their services.
Cllr Andrew Fender, chair of the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee, said: “Anyone who visiting or passing the site can see the eye-catching, rapid and exciting progress that has been made on the project over the last few months, which really is positive news for the town.
“When complete, the new fully-accessible interchange will transform a key gateway into the town centre and provide much improved facilities and links between modes of transport for passengers.”
Leader of Bolton Council, Cllr Cliff Morris, said: “It’s great to see work progressing and the interchange is a key part of our town centre programme. There’s a lot of development going on in that part of town.
“The regeneration of Newport Street is underway and construction of the £6.5m Bolton Central office development has also started.”
Work started last year on Bolton Interchange, on the Great Moor Street/Newport Street junction, backing onto the Network Rail train lines running north out of Bolton.
When complete, the interchange will provide modern, better passenger information and ticketing facilities, a safer, more secure waiting environment with greater accessibility and a skylink bridge directly connecting the interchange with the train station.
The transport interchange is being delivered by Transport for Greater Manchester in partnership with Bolton Council, and forms part of the regeneration of Newport Street.
It will provide a modern, high quality facility for bus passengers, giving good connectivity between bus and rail services and act as a gateway to the town centre.
