Engineers Overcome Darlington’s Double Challenge!

Engineers faced a double challenge when they were called upon to design the sub structure for a new footbridge and cycleway next to Darlington College.

Construction work on the 60 metre span bridge on Haughton Road, which has been commissioned by the local authority, began this Summer under the watchful eye of Carillion.

However, one of the key challenges in designing the structure was providing sufficient clearance over the tracks of the East Coast Main Railway line below, whilst also ensuring that the approaches to either side of the bridge were not so steep as to become prohibitive to the disabled.

Design Engineer, Paul Monaghan, who has led the work on behalf of HBPW, said: “The new bridge is being constructed to the south of, but immediately adjacent to, an existing bridge. It will provide an important improvement to the existing pedestrian and cyclist provision on Haughton Road by completing a key designated cycle route, which currently ends either side of the existing structure.”

He said the existing bridge, which was not suitable for widening, carried pedestrians and cyclists along a narrow footway.

“Currently around 240 cyclists, as well as pedestrians, use the existing structure each day but, with numbers expected to rise, an alternative, more effective, solution needed to be found, hence the new bridge build.

“However, the design not only needed to comply with Network Rail engineering specifications, but also provide for all types of pedestrian access including both cycles and vehicles used by the disabled.

“That has meant following guidelines laid out in the Disability Discrimination Act and keeping the bridge approaches at a suitably low level. Achieving these two requirements was one of the key engineering design challenges of this project.” added Paul.