Bridge
Dykes running parallel
to the river meant
a crane with a long
reach was required
Complex crossing
12 NSC
Feb 20
Forming an integral element of
the 7.5km-long Lincoln Eastern
Bypass, the River Witham
Bridge has been delivered for
Lincolnshire County Council by main
contractor Galliford Try.
The overall project is part-funded by a
£50m Central Government capital grant
and will improve Lincoln’s infrastructure,
encourage growth, minimise traffic
congestion and enhance the inner-city
environment.
Cleveland Bridge was awarded the
contract for the supply and installation
of the 1,400t, 225m-long River Witham
Bridge, which included substantial haunch
girders, manufactured in weathering steel.
According to Cleveland Bridge, while the
production process was straightforward,
the challenges for the transportation and
installation of the bridge components
were many and varied, requiring extensive
planning, close collaboration with suppliers
and main contractor and the expertise
of the steelwork contractor’s highly
experienced team.
The bridge girders had to be transported
to site by road, a task that included
travelling through the centre of the historic
city of Lincoln. In order to reach the site,
the delivery team also had to negotiate a
restrictive road network close to the site,
which meant that only relatively shorter
girder lengths could be delivered to the
north bank of the river.
To meet the County Council’s objective
to have the Lincoln Eastern Bypass open
in 2020, construction of the structure on
site was scheduled for autumn/winter 2019.
This is a challenging time for any bridge
installation due to the weather conditions
and this project was further impacted by
the location being on a flood plain.
This led to the site being inaccessible for
sustained periods as a result of inclement
weather conditions, further reducing
the installation timescale afforded to the
project team. The installation window
was also minimised by activity on the
River Witham, which is a busy waterway,
preventing extended periods of closure.
The location presented numerous
further challenges, which were successfully
overcome through innovative and
creative approaches. Most notably, for
the installation, the project team had to
manage a very wide workable area as a
result of dykes running parallel on both
sides of the river.
As a result, and primarily because
the reach required and weight of the
components would be so significant,
Cleveland Bridge worked closely with
cranage specialist Sarens for the use of a
specialist 1,200t-capacity crane, which is
one of only a handful in the UK.
In total the bridge consists of six (three
pairs), 225m-long bridge girders, but these
components had to be manufactured as
smaller sections, due to the site having a
very compact and restrictive assembly area.
Cleveland Bridge delivered the girders
to site in 27 pairs, which varied in length
from 16.7m to 31.6m. Each pair had its
main cross member bracing installed in the
factory as the girders were paired up, while
the smaller bracing that links the pairs was
installed after the steelwork was lifted into
place.
Preparing the components for
installation was complicated by the
The successful installation of a five-span bridge across the River
Witham in Lincolnshire is testament to the capabilities of the
project engineers and the benefits of collaborative working.
FACT FILE
River Witham Bridge,
Lincolnshire
Main client:
Lincolnshire County
Council
Main contractor:
Galliford Try
Structural engineer:
WSP
Steelwork contractor:
Cleveland Bridge
Steel tonnage: 1,400t
/Weathering_steel
/Design_for_steel_bridge_construction#Transportation
/Multi-girder_composite_bridges#Longitudinal_girders
/Design_for_steel_bridge_construction
/Design_for_steel_bridge_construction#Erection_using_cranes
/Multi-girder_composite_bridges#Bracing