Fabrication underway for Essex new town bridge

Steel beams up to 3m-deep and 48m-long are being fabricated by Briton Fabricators for the Beaulieu Bridge in Essex.

Forming an integral part of the Beaulieu Park housing development near Chelmsford, which will eventually have its own railway station, the bridge will span the Great Eastern Railway.

Working on behalf of Graham Construction, Briton Fabricators will eventually fabricate, supply and erect 891t of weathering steel for the 171m-long bridge.

The beams will be transported to site in braced pairs weighing up to 132t. They will be delivered to a temporary yard close to the bridge’s final position, where the entire structure, including its concrete deck, will be assembled before being manoeuvred into place by self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) next Spring.

The bridge curves on plan, is four beams wide and will be supported on two intermediate piers.