Leamington Spa railway bridge's £2.4m replacement under way

A Warrington railway bridge was driven down a street last year during a similar upgrade to the Leamington Spa scheme

A 118-year-old railway bridge is being replaced at a cost of £2.4m, causing road and rail closures over the Easter bank holiday weekend.

The structure has been moved through Warwickshire by lorry, to be installed in place of the old bridge on Rugby Road in Leamington Spa.

As part of the work, some 800 tonnes of foundation stone will be laid, along with new tracks.

Network Rail aims to have the line open by 19 April.

It said the old bridge over the A445 was being replaced because of its condition, which had limited trains passing over it to 20mph (32kmph).

The new bridge will allow more reliable journeys for passengers on the line between Nuneaton and Leamington Spa, in time for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this summer, a spokesman added.

Network Rail said the old bridge was being replaced because of its condition

Paul Randall, a project manager for Network Rail, said it was a "complex engineering project" and the existing bridge will be removed by a huge 96-wheeled transporter vehicle.

Some roads will also be temporarily closed during the work.