Bridges
Craibstone Junction Underbridge – Steel tonnage of 301t and consists of five pairs of weathering steel
plate girders that were taken to site as braced pairs measuring 3.25m wide and 42m long.
A96 Aberdeen-Inverness Trunk Road Underbridge (above) – This is the heaviest structure with a steel
tonnage of 811t. It consists of five pairs of weathering steel plate girders 3.2m wide and 48m long.
B977 Echt-Balmedie Road West Overbridge (below) – A fully painted structure with a tonnage of 210t.
Consists of two pairs of plate girders measuring 3.2m wide and 57m long.
The Blackdog Junction Underbridge (South) – Consists of three pairs of weathering steel plate girders
brought to site in 3.8m wide × 46m lengths. Tonnage of 215t.
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Steel Bridges - Vital Statistics
A93 North Deeside Road Overbridge – Steel tonnage of 300t and consists of three pairs of two-span
plate girders that were installed using a 500t-capacity crane. The fully painted pairs of girders measure
4.8m wide and were delivered to site in 46m and 29m lengths.
The A90 Aberdeen-Dundee Trunk Road Underbridge at Stonehaven – Steel tonnage of 312t, this
structure consists of five pairs of fully painted plate girders that were brought to site in 3.8m wide ×
40m lengths.
The A956 Charleston Junction Overbridge – The second heaviest structure with a 518t tonnage.
Consists of seven pairs of weathering steel plate girders brought to site in 3.8m wide × 50m lengths.
The Blackdog Junction Underbridge (North) – Weighing 197t, this structure consists of three pairs of
weathering steel plate girders brought to site as 3.8m wide × 44m lengths.
Annual Review
One of the 46m-long
girders for the North
Deeside Overbridge
is delivered
too long a span or at too high a skew for
concrete, or where steel provided a greater
space for fitting major utilities below the
bridge deck.”
In order to fit in with the overall
construction programme, bridge
construction has been sequenced with
Cleveland Bridge erecting four structures
in 2016 and then completing its work in
Spring 2017.
During 2016, Cleveland Bridge delivered
and installed the steelwork for the following
bridges: the A93 North Deeside Road
Overbridge, the Craibstone Junction
Underbridge, the A96 Aberdeen-Inverness
Trunk Road Underbridge and the B977
Echt-Balmedie Road West Overbridge.
Commenting on the work, Cleveland
Bridge Head of Projects Dan Banks says:
“The delivery of the first four bridges, which
had components that were up to 43.5m-long
and needed to be transported more than
300 miles, is a demonstration of our
manufacturing and logistical capabilities.”
Two of the initial bridge structures
to be installed, the B977 Echt-Balmedie
Overbridge and the A96 Aberdeen-
Inverness Underbridge, both required
assembly of girders adjacent to their final
position.
For the former bridge, the steel was
brought to site in four braced pairs of plate
girders, each pair being 3.2m wide. They
were joined on-site, using a 250t-capacity
mobile crane to form two 57m-long braced
pairs of girders. These were then installed
over days using a 500t telescopic crane.
The A96 bridge is a single span structure
requiring five pairs of plate girders. The
steelwork was taken to site in lengths of
36m and 12m, which were spliced together
on two plots adjacent to the bridge’s final
position. Installation of this bridge
required the use of a 800t-capacity lattice
boom crane.
The bridges that were installed in 2017
were: the A956 Charleston Overbridge, and
the Blackdog Junction North Underbridge
and South Underbridge, structures that form
both parts of a roundabout junction.
The final bridge structure in Cleveland
Bridge’s programme was the A90 Aberdeen-
Dundee Trunk Road Underbridge at
Stonehaven