Corporation Street to close for six months

Corporation Street is to close to vehicles for around six months when the distinctive walkway between Manchester Arndale and Marks & Spencer and Selfridges undergoes essential safety work.

The street will remain open to cyclists and pedestrians but GMPTE are arranging bus diversions over the period. City centre spokesman Councillor Pat Karney apologised for any convenience caused by the road closure but said “allowing the bridge to deteriorate would have been a false economy” and that substantial extra costs would’ve been incurred.

The landmark bridge was designed by Manchester-based Hodder Associate Architects to replace the old Corporation Street bridge which was destroyed in the 1996 IRA blast.

Originally scheduled to begin late last summer, the building work was postponed because of fears that the street would be closed over the Christmas trading period. It is necessary as the glass panels on the bridge are currently defective and without intervention they could pose as a safety threat to the public. Whilst the work is taking place, the bridge will be enclosed with scaffolding which is why vehicles will be unable to pass through the street.

The cost of the building work will be split between Manchester Ardnale’s joint owners and Manchester City Council, which owns the freehold on the bridge, with each party paying around £365,000.The City Council were also involved in creating an improvement plan for the bridge following a reduced usage in the link bridge because of its current condition.

Glen Barkworth, general manager at Manchester Arndale, said that the company are fully supportive of the work as he believes the bridge provides a substantial link between the Arndale and its retail neighbours.

Additional signage and extra staff will be provided to deal with enquiries about the bridge’s building works and both Manchester Arndale and Manchester City Council are continuing to ensure that business can continue as usual despite the closure of the road to vehicles.