Bradford roadworks: Old tram tracks emerge and bus stops demolished

The rails can be seen near the point where Bridge Street turns into Sunbridge Road, near the junction with Tyrrel Street.

When worn tramway tracks were due for repair in the late 1920s, a replacement of the tram by trolleybuses was suggested as it would prove cheaper than renewing the track.

The decline of the tram system began and much of it had closed by 1939, and the remainder was to be abandoned in the following years, with the last Bradford tramcar returning to Bankfoot depot for the final time on May 6, 1950.

The emergence of the long-buried rails is just one of the interesting visual aspects of the Bradford City Centre Walking and Cycling Improvements Scheme.

Old rails have been unearthed near the point where Bridge Street meets Sunbridge Road (Image: T&A)

Nearby, on Market Street, a number of bus stops have now been knocked down. On Tuesday afternoon, the forlorn-looking structures could be seen lying on the ground near the point where they had once offered passengers shelter.

In their latest update, project bosses said the "city centre core works are progressing well."

Work is continuing on Market Street, Bank Street, and Broadway, where barriers are in place to keep pedestrians and workers apart.

More paving has been laid in Market Street, where the pedestrianisation work is taking shape (Image: T&A)

A spokesperson for the project said: "On Market Street and Bank Street we have been removing layers of the road surface, which will allow us to re-pave the streets here with similar materials that have been used elsewhere in the city centre.

"On the newly pedestrianised streets, the existing footways will be widened using sandstone paving flags to closely match the existing in size and colour, silver-grey granite setts will also provide a distinction between the footways and the route for service vehicles."

Paving being laid in Hall Ings (Image: T&A)

"The service route will be paved at the same level as the footways, using porphyry paving with a similar colour mix of purples, greys and browns seen throughout the city centre.

"By paving the pedestrianised streets at the same level, it avoids having to step up and down onto kerbs, making the streets easier and more accessible to get around."

Elsewhere in the city centre, overnight works took place last week, with a focus on Church Bank, Well Street, Vicar Lane and Hall Ings.

Demolished bus shelter lying in the ground in Market Street (Image: T&A)

The spokesperson said: "This work has involved further road surfacing at Sunbridge Road at the junction between Barry Street and Godwin Street. Overnight work on Church Bank, Well Street, Vicar Lane, Hall Ings and Leeds Road has also been completed, installing new road markings and re-surfacing works."

The majority of Blue Badge parking spaces in the city centre will be retained, but the spaces on Bridge Street and Norfolk Gardens are now not accessible due to the construction works. The closest spaces to these roads are on Aldermanbury.

Paving being laid at the junction of Bank Street and Broadway (Image: T&A)

New Blue Badge parking spaces are also being put in place as part of the scheme, so overall there will be more Blue Badge parking spaces once the project has been finished than there was before it began.

The taxi rank which was located on Bank Street is no longer accessible. The nearest taxi ranks to this location are on Hall Ings by the junction with Well Street, outside of Bradford Interchange and on Sunbridge Road.

A closer look at the exposed rails (Image: T&A)

Three temporary taxi ranks have also been installed at Sunbridge Road, off Drake Street at the front of the Great Victoria Hotel, and on Bridge Street opposite the hotel. The temporary ranks will be in use until the new permanent ranks in the City Centre are constructed

The Broadway Centre car park will also remain open and will be unaffected by the works. You can access the Broadway Centre car park as you do now, from Hall Ings, but you'll need to enter from the Leeds Road side, rather than the Jacobs Well side, as the Jacobs Well side is being pedestrianised.

The Baby of the North looks on as Jacob's Well is transformed from a roundabout into a new layout (Image: T&A)

 At Jacobs Well, works are continuing within and around the former roundabout.

This work will see Jacobs Well roundabout become a super crossing.

Works continuing on Prince's Way near the former Odeon (Image: T&A)

Little sign remains that a roundabout ever existed, with traffic now going straight from the bottom of Manchester Road onto Prince's Way, with no options to turn onto the now-closed Hall Ings.

Work is mostly complete on Croft Street and Senior Way and the new lanes are open to traffic. Works to install the new cycleway and central reserve will continue on Manchester Road, where lane closures will continue.