Antique tramlines re-installed on Bradford street as part of pedestrianisation works
The tracks - which once guided trams around the city centre - were rediscovered last year
ANTIQUE tram lines have been re-laid on a Bradford city centre street as part of ongoing pedestrianisation works.
The tracks were uncovered last year when Bridge Street was being dug up ahead of work to turn the busy road into a fully pedestrianised route.
At the time Bradford Council officers said the find was “somewhat unexpected as it was generally believed that the area in question had been cleared of such items during the post-war redevelopment of the central area.”
They added: “We are looking how we can incorporate them into the new paving.”
Information boards detailing the history of Bradford’s tram system were also mooted.
The lines were removed and cleaned, and this week a section of the lines were installed back in almost the same spot they were found – although that stretch of Bridge Stret is now pedestrianised.
The work came as the final touches are taking place in the Bridge Street section of the Transforming Cities Fund scheme.
In 2020, the Conservative Government announced Bradford would get millions to transform its city centre, with traffic being removed from busy streets like Hall Ings, Bank Street and Market Street.
The funding for the work was part of the West Yorkshire Devolution Deal.
The vast majority of work was completed before Christmas, although work to extend Norfolk Gardens onto Hall Ings and a creation of a park on the former Hall Ings car park site will not be completed until Spring.
This week, with snow and ice from earlier this month finally melted, work on Bridge Street has seen trees being installed in some of the new planters next to Centenary Square.
And a variety of different plants and flowers have been planted at the large “meeting circle” at the front of St George’s Hall.
More benches and seating areas have been added in locations across the centre, including new seating on Market Street.
The tram line feature comes at a time when Bradford is preparing for a new tram system.
West Yorkshire Combined Authority last year revealed that a tram line linking Bradford and Leeds city centres would make up the first leg of the West Yorkshire Mass Transit system.
Although details of the exact route have yet to be announced, it will begin in Bradford city centre and likely include links between Bradford Interchange and Bradford Forster Square station.