Bridge relief for Kentish town

Mabey Bridge has completed the erection of the first of two bridges it will construct for the 1.4km long Sittingbourne Northern Relief Road in Kent.

Spanning the Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway, the single span steel composite bridge consists of six 42m-long girders, which were brought to site as complete members and lifted into place individually by a 1,000t capacity crane.

The erection process was completed in two days and required the use of temporary props to be installed to stabilise the initial girders. All of the girders were spaced at 2.6m intervals, and all of the connecting cross members were installed during the two-day programme.

Bypassing Sittingbourne’s town centre, the new road is expected to ease congestion and provide better access to a number of local business parks. Working on behalf of main contractor Jackson Civil Engineering, Mabey Bridge has begun work on the project’s second steel bridge, a three span structure crossing Milton Creek.