The Rebuilding of York’s Scarborough Bridge
And the Network Rail job went so well that the main contractor, Story Contracting Ltd, even sent a big thank you email to all its key suppliers who made the successful operation possible.
But, before the huge task of replacing the original Victorian structures could begin, HBPW was employed to design the temporary works access and support for lifting operations, which were a logistical exercise in their own right.
The Supercrane concrete platform
Engineer James Cable said: “The bridge carries the York to Scarborough railway line across the River Ouse and, whilst major structural bridge deck replacement work was required, the available access for the installation crane was very restricted, with the crane positioned in the small car park between the railway embankment and the residential bed and breakfast. To add to the challenge HBPW found that the existing railway embankment had historical slip failures founding on alluvial river deposits.”
Geotechnical engineer, Jay Fox, carried out ground investigation and slope stability modelling, to establish the existing condition of the embankment slope. This helped to direct the design development so that the engineered solution for the crane access provided a long term benefit for the current embankment slope.
The Supercrane concrete platform
Two piled crane beams were installed to enable the large crawler crane to safely access the site for the demolition and reconstruction of the bridge and, in total, 200 piles were installed to depths of 14 metres.
Network Rail’s route Managing Director, Phil Verster conceded that it was a challenge: “The bridge spans the River Ouse and is in the middle of a residential area with narrow streets as well as being close to several important rail lines.”
Removing the Old Scarborough Bridge
But everything came together leaving Mr Verster somewhat relieved. “Hopefully, many parts of the bridge will not need any further work for decades,” he added.
And, in his email to all concerned, Project Engineer at Story Contracting, John Slee said: “Credit most go to you all for your proactive contribution to this project. “This is one of the biggest we have delivered and whilst it presented its fair share of challenges, through careful planning and excellent teamwork, we have proved together that we can deliver such large high profile projects on time and to budget. The client was delighted.”
The first of the replacement bridge sections is lifted into place
HBPW Partner, Paul Monaghan, who supervised the HBPW element of the work, said: “Network Rail can be justifiably proud of this project which was not only an engineering challenge for all concerned, but also a real team effort that seamlessly delivered an excellent outcome.”