News
Bridge adds to Cambridge walking and cycling trail
The Abbey Chesterton Bridge has been lifted into place, completing a significant milestone in the delivery of the Chisholm Trail walking and cycling route in Cambridge.
The bridge, which was designed by Skanska and is based upon a Knight Architects concept, spans the River Cam and sits adjacent to a Network Rail line.
The new structure was lifted into place during one short overnight possession at a weekend.
Working on behalf of main contractor Tarmac, S H Structures fabricated the 140t bridge and delivered it to site in three sections. Once assembled on land adjacent to the bridge’s final installation position, a 1,200t-capacity crane was then used to lift the 44m-long × 6m-wide bridge into its final position.
“With the assembled bridge taking up significant space on site, the remaining confined environment meant the crane and its rigging only just fitted within site limits,” said S H Structures Contracts Director David Perry.
“The crane’s proximity to the river meant that a piled crane pad had to be provided for the lift and the bridge sits inside the curved concrete abutments with only a theoretical 50mm of clearance each side.”
Once complete, the scheme will allow thousands of people to walk or cycle on a mostly off-road and traffic-free route connecting Cambridge North to Cambridge Station.