A MAJOR milestone has been reached in the creation of Bolton’s £48 million new transport interchange.

Work has now started on the pre-cast concrete support structure that — when complete — will support the bus roadway and passenger concourse building.

A huge crane is working on the site at the corner of Great Moor Street and Newport Street and is lifting sections of the frame into place.

The project is being carried out by Transport for Greater Manchester and contractor Kier Construction has so far completed a number of important groundworks, including the installation of 1,002 concrete piles which will support the interchange.

The piles have a combined length of 14.7km, equivalent to the length of 1,152 single decker buses, while the 4,016 cubic metres of concrete used was enough to fill 33 double decker buses.

Transport for Greater Manchester Committee Chair Councillor Andrew Fender said: “The completion of the groundworks and the building of the concrete support frame really are significant milestones in the redevelopment of the interchange and will have a considerable visual impact on the project.

“Passengers can now really see a fully accessible facility taking shape with a modern concourse, a single, integrated ticket office and improved links between bus and train services.

“When complete, the new multi-modal interchange will transform a key gateway into the town centre as well as providing much improved facilities for passengers and greater integration of transport modes.”

Leader of Bolton Council, Cllr Cliff Morris, added: “This is another important milestone for the interchange, which will provide a modern, up-to-date transport facility for commuters. We’ve worked hard to deliver our town centre regeneration programme and the transport interchange is a key part of our strategy.”

Work started last year on Interchange, backing onto the Network Rail train lines running north out of Bolton.

When complete, the facility will provide a modern facility for bus passengers — providing connectivity between bus and rail services via a skylink bridge and will aim to provide a gateway to the town centre.