Bridge
33m-long cantilevers that reach out from
either side of the gorge and almost touch in
the middle.
At the centre of the bridge, a narrow gap
(40mm) has been designed to represent the
transition between the mainland and the
island headland, the present and the past,
history and legend.
English Heritage’s Chief Executive Kate
Mavor says: “Tintagel Castle has been made
whole again. Once more, people will cross
from one side of the castle to the other
and their footsteps will echo those from
hundreds of years ago.
“As a charity, English Heritage’s core
purpose is to care for historic sites like
Tintagel Castle and to inspire people to
visit them. Our new bridge does both –
protecting the castle’s archaeology and
bringing its story to life in a brilliant,
imaginative way.”
In order to achieve the client’s vision, the
design had a number of considerations and
challenges to overcome, not least the site,
which is inaccessible for many vehicles and
large deliveries of materials.
“Steel was the only choice for the bridge
as we needed a lightweight solution, and
one that could be fabricated offsite into
deliverable pieces,” explains project Architect
William Matthews.
Getting the steel elements to site was
just one of the challenges that needed to
be overcome as the gatehouse can only be
accessed by one narrow lane. A multi-axle
vehicle was used to deliver the steelwork and
navigate the winding road.
Lifting the steel into place was another
significant challenge. With no room or
access for a crane in the gorge, which is
more than 60m-deep, or on either side,
the construction team utilised a lifting
procedure not often seen the UK.
A cable crane, which are used in the
Alps to install power lines and ski lifts, was
installed across the gorge. It had a 5t lifting
capacity, could pick-up steel elements from
a small delivery yard on the headland and
subsequently fed the construction of the
bridge’s two cantilevers.
None of the bridge’s steel elements
exceeded the cable crane’s capacity, while
the largest two pieces, each 10m-long ×
4.5m-deep and installed at either end of
the cantilevers where the structure meets
the abutments, where within a size that was
transportable on the access route.
All of the steel elements were fabricated
by Underhill into fully assembled and
erectable pieces, that included a top and
bottom cord, bracings and cross members.
A total of six pieces were needed for each
of the cantilevers and they are formed from
a combination of mild steel and stainless
steel parts.
“As the bridge is in a very aggressive 20
Legendary
land bridge
The medieval scholar
Geoffrey of Monmouth
wrote that the Tintagel
land-bridge was so
narrow that “three armed men
would be able to defend it,
even if you had the whole
kingdom of Britain at your side”.
Legend also has it that
the King of Britain, Uther
Pendragon – transformed by
the wizard Merlin into the
likeness of the Duke of Cornwall
– stole across this passage way
into the castle where he spent
the night with the Duke’s wife,
Ygerna, who later gave birth to
the future King Arthur.
Allegedly so impressed
was Richard, Earl of Cornwall
by the Arthurian myth that in
the 1230s and 1240s he built
a castle at Tintagel, with the
land-bridge an integral part of
its design.
The cantilevers nearly
touch in the middle of
the bridge
The spectacular
bridge is now open
to tourists
NSC 19
Sept 19
/Bridges
/Sustainable_steel_bridges#Lightweight_construction
/The_case_for_steel#Offsite_fabrication_for_precision_parts
/Design_for_steel_bridge_construction#Transportation
/Design_for_steel_bridge_construction
/Steel_construction_products#Stainless_steel_products
/Steel_construction_products#Stainless_steel_products