Bridge to nowhere?

[DelW]

Travelling on UK Railtours 'Bridge Too Far' tour last Saturday, we spent some time shuffling in to and out of Church Path Pit sidings, just east of Ebbsfleet. While doing so I noticed a substantial bridge across HS1 just south of Ebbsfleet International station, which has no approaches from either side.

Can anyone tell me what this was expected to carry? It's between two car parking areas, but it looks wide enough for a motorway, and there are two other bridges linking the car parks, one wide enough for dualling if needed, so it seems unlikely to be for another car park link road. On Google views, there are no part-built roads heading towards it, nor does there look to be any easy alignment for a major new road on the eastern side. So far Google hasn't found me an answer, so I'd be interested if anyone knows what it was/is for.

 

[snowball]

Here it is on Google satellite view:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.4398839,0.3234298,529m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

[najaB]

So far Google hasn't found me an answer, so I'd be interested if anyone knows what it was/is for.

Well, Ebbsfleet was supposed to be a development of c 15,000 houses so there probably were plans for a major road - easier to put the bridge in during construction of the railway than try to build it over an active railway.

 

[theironroad]

Does look a bit odd.

Maybe it was built as part of other plans that weren't fulfilled.

 

[steamybrian]

Well, Ebbsfleet was supposed to be a development of c 15,000 houses so there probably were plans for a major road - easier to put the bridge in during construction of the railway than try to build it over an active railway.

Work now in progress in building a large new development (a new town?) in the area. Plenty of land including disused quarries.

 

[Steveman]

I seem to remember reading some time ago that the bridge is probably going to be demolished as it was built in the wrong place.

 

[theageofthetra]

Never can understand why the stations at Swanscombe and Northfleet weren't closed and a new combined interchange one built over where HS1 runs nearby. Why actually is Ebsfleet station where it is with awful access to the Chatham line?

 

[Bald Rick]

Never can understand why the stations at Swanscombe and Northfleet weren't closed and a new combined interchange one built over where HS1 runs nearby. Why actually is Ebsfleet station where it is with awful access to the Chatham line?

Presumably because it was the first place south of the Thames tunnel where the necessary space existed that aligned with the necessary gradients for a station and with sufficient distance from the high speed junctions to split the lines into the requisite platform / through lines.