Bridges

The New Bridgewater Bridge is a 1.28 kilometre-long bridge crossing the River Derwent, replacing the adjacent Bridgewater Bridge, built in 1946.

The new bridge is a 22-span twin box girder, with the reinforced concrete superstructure constructed by match-cast segmental, balanced cantilever methodology. The maximum span is 64m and there are 1,082 match-cast segments, weighing up to 90 tonnes each.

McConnell Dowell and VSL formed a sub-alliance, establishing an integrated construction team, to deliver the superstructure scope of the bridge. Collaboration allowed the expertise and capability of the two organisations to be fully leveraged to meet the challenges of establishing a dedicated precast facility for the segment manufacture, delivery of the units to site on public roads, and erecting them over a sensitive marine environment, at a rate of more than four segments per day.

With respect to the precast operations, key functionalities were incorporated into the facility to enable the team to achieve one-day casting cycles in the four field segment casting cells, as well as two-day cycles for pier segments in the dedicated pier segment cell. Initiatives were undertaken to ensure this was done safely, including strategies to upskill the local workforce within the match-cast team whilst honouring commitments to local employment.

For the erection of the superstructure, in consideration of complex bridge geometry, substructure construction programme risks, and the temporary works access established to facilitate the bridge construction from foundations through to superstructure, a pair of bespoke Special Segment Lifting Devices (SSLDs) were designed and built for the cantilever erection. The philosophy behind the methodology chosen is described along with the key aspects of the temporary works adopted to ensure safety and productivity expectations were realised.