Watch: Work to install new tram bridge over Dudley main road starts - first piece put in place
The first parts of the replacement of a famous old Black Country bridge has been installed.
Supporting beams, which will one day hold a bridge that will carry the trams on the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Metro extension, were installed on Birmingham New Road, Dudley, over the weekend
The beams represent the first steps to replace the Hanson's Ale Bridge which was demolished in December last year.
A large crane was brought in to help fit the supports.
Birmingham New Road between the junctions for Burnt Tree and Tipton Road was closed to Wolverhampton-bound traffic over the weekend, with one lane remaining open for traffic heading towards Birmingham.
A spokesperson for the Midland Metro Alliance confirmed the road is on course to be fully reopened by 4am on Monday, as planned.
The original bridge was built in in 1849 for the South Staffordshire Railway as part of a new line from Burton-upon-Trent, through Lichfield, to Dudley.
The present advert for Hanson's Mild Ale dates back about 30 years, replacing an earlier – and far more interesting – advertisement for the brewery featuring a mural of a chainmaker, and the slogan 'no mod cons'.
The Hanson's advert that lasted until 2023 was believed to have been pained onto the bridge in around 1987, replacing the familiar royal blue advert for Don Everall Transglobe.
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