Time capsule buried at reopened Crossley's Bridge

Schoolchildren and councillors have buried a time capsule to commemorate the official reopening on Crossleys Bridge in Blackpool.

The bridge, on a main route linking the route and the motorway with Bispham, Cleveleys, and Fleetwood, has been knocked down and rebuilt in a £6.1 million project.

Deputy council leader Gillian Campbell was joined by children from Bispham Endowed Church of England Primary School yesterday afternoon. A total of 12 classes contributed to the time capsule, which has been buried to be dug up in the future, so the next generation can catch a glimpse into the poast.

Deputy head teacher Julie Bell said: “The opportunity for the children to place the time capsule in the bridge was a great way to celebrate it reopening, having been given an insight into all the work that went into the project.”

Coun Campbell watched on yesterday as the time capsule was lowered into the ground, and spoke to youngsters. She said: “Keeping our road network in a good state of repair is vitally important to building a stronger economy in Blackpool.

“To do that work inevitably creates some disruption but in this case the work was absolutely necessary to stop the bridge from closing altogether.

“I think most residents understood that this work needed to be completed and I would like to thank them all for their patience while the roadworks were ongoing.

“Along with repairing the bridge, we have also been able to work with local schools to engage them in the project, teaching them about the importance of having road networks and, who knows, hopefully we have inspired a few civil engineers of the future too.”

The bridge closed to traffic last November when the Illuminations ended.

It partially reopened in April, following six months of traffic misery and building work, which also saw the bridge heightened to allow Network Rail, which gave £1m, to carry out electrification work on the railway line running below, and fully reopened last month.

Network Rail’s scheme project manager, Philip Middleton, added: “For Network Rail, the reconstruction of the bridge forms part of our clearance works for the electrification of the line from Preston to Blackpool.

“The successful delivery of the scheme is due to the close collaboration between Blackpool Council, Wildes, Network Rail and Story Contracting.

“We would like to thank the local residents, businesses, motorists and rail passengers for their patience during the demolition and reconstruction of the bridge.”