Drone Footage Captures Deck Progress as Construction Crosses the Calder
The Baker Viaduct is entering a new phase of construction, with engineers installing permanent bridge deck sections across the structure in what represents a significant step forward for the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU).
The latest update, captured entirely from the air using drone footage, surveys progress at Ravensthorpe and Westtown from above, giving a clear view of how the structure is developing across the River Calder. With the main lifting crane removed from the East Abutment, attention has shifted to building out the deck that will one day carry future fast-line services across the river and the railway infrastructure below.
How the Viaduct Deck Is Being Built
Engineers are placing precast concrete deck slabs across the steel girders that span the structure. These slabs create permanent working platforms and will eventually form part of the finished viaduct deck, once reinforcement and in-situ concrete are added between the girders, binding everything into a single continuous bridge capable of carrying railway loads.
Span 9 is among the sections now visible in close detail from the air, and the aerial perspective makes the overall scale of the structure more apparent than any ground-level view could. The East Abutment embankment continues to take shape alongside the deck installation, with temporary girder support structures remaining in place as construction advances across the spans.
Calder Road, Utility Works and Grade Separation
Away from the viaduct itself, utility diversion works continue around Calder Road, with Yorkshire Water infrastructure being relocated as part of the wider construction programme. The Calder Road bridge replacement is advancing in parallel, along with progress on the Grade Separation structure at Ravensthorpe, which will allow future fast services to pass over the slower lines through the area.
What Comes Next
The focus of construction is set to shift to the western side of the River Calder, where beam lifting operations will begin connecting that end of the viaduct to the work already completed on the eastern side. That phase will be a major milestone, bringing the two halves of the structure together across the river for the first time.
The Bigger Picture
The Baker Viaduct is one of the most structurally significant elements of the entire TRU programme. Each new span of deck that appears brings the completed structure closer into view, and with it, the infrastructure needed to transform rail travel across the TransPennine corridor.