Pupils at a Carlisle primary school joined a virtual workshop with teams from Cumbria County Council and Morgan Sindall Infrastructure last week, to come up with names for the new bridge set to be built over the River Caldew and Cumbrian Coastline Railway, as part of the Carlisle Southern Link Road.
The children from years three, four and five from Cummersdale Primary School spent a morning learning about the materials and forces needed when building a bridge, and how engineers can play a part in reducing the environmental impact with innovative designs. Pupils from the school were able to put what they learnt into practice with a bridge building competition, before working together to come up with a name for the new bridge, which will be put to a public vote between 9 and 23 July 2021.
The three shortlisted bridge names are:
Option A: Cummersdale Bridge
Option B: Caldew Crossing
Option C: Blackwell Bridge
The new 179-metre-long bridge is one of the key elements of the £144 million Carlisle Southern Link Road that will connect Junction 42 of the M6 with the A595 at Newby West. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has granted £134 million towards the new road which will play a vital role in supporting both, the economic recovery of Cumbria following COVID-19, and the successful delivery of initiatives such as the St. Cuthbert's Garden Village (SCGV). The SCGV is a scheme led by Carlisle City Council that will deliver 10,000 new homes and employment opportunities within Carlisle, bringing significant benefits to the city and the wider county.
In addition, Cumbria County Council and Carlisle City Council have committed to make contributions of £5 million each towards the road, which will be sourced from developer contributions as homes are built. Cumbria County Council has appointed Morgan Sindall Infrastructure to undertake the detailed design of the road, supported by local teams from Story Contracting and Capita. The works are due to commence on site in Spring 2022, it is anticipated the construction of the road will take approximately two years to complete.
Pupils at Cummersdale Primary School taking part in the bridge building workshop
A Computer Generated Image of the bridge, which forms part of the Carlisle Southern Link Road project
“We’re really excited to be working on the early phases of the Carlisle Southern Link Road, which will connect thousands of homes to the surrounding area for years to come."
People can vote on the shortlisted three bridge names chosen by the students at Cummersdale School here.
Gareth Jones, Headteacher from Cummersdale Primary School said: “We are delighted to have been involved in the naming of the new bridge on the Carlisle Southern Link Road. It was a great opportunity to introduce the students to the project which will make such a difference to our local community. We look forward to working with the Council over the coming years as the road is constructed.”
Mark Conway, Project Director for Carlisle Southern Link Road at Morgan Sindall Infrastructure commented: “We’re really excited to be working on the early phases of the Carlisle Southern Link Road, which will connect thousands of homes to the surrounding area for years to come. It’s great to join Cummersdale School so early in the design phase, as we work together with the local community as part of the project.”
Councillor Andy Connell, Vice Chairman of Cumbria County Council added: “The Carlisle Southern Link Road is key to helping unlock both housing and economic growth and investment at a time when our county really needs it the most. The talent and enthusiasm of the Cummersdale students and their teachers was great to see; our future is in capable hands!”
- To read more about the CSLR please visit the council’s website at cumbria.gov.uk/cslr
- For more information about St Cuthbert’s Garden Village please visit www.stcuthbertsgv.co.uk