A W A R D SSDA 2018
NSC 19
October 18
the bridge uses a 1 in 100-year model. To
provide resilience to flooding in the future,
an allowance was also made for climate
change, ensuring that the standard of
protection will not diminish.
Given the accuracy required to
successfully realise the complex steelwork
geometry and installation, it was decided to
embrace Building Information Modelling
(BIM) from the outset. The Revit model
of the bridge enabled every element to be
accurately represented and positioned;
including every steel plate in the bridge’s
curving geometry and all connection
elements.
This was particularly valuable when
designing the highly complex bolted integral
pier connection. The bolting equipment
was also modelled at this stage to address
buildability constraints and ensure that each
bolted connection was accessible when the
bridge was installed.
One of the key features of this elegant
structure is the slim piers. To achieve
the required aesthetic and structural
performance this area required careful
consideration. Once the concrete weir walls
had been poured and the holding down
bolts installed, a detailed as-built survey
was carried out. The recess bolt holes in
the curved pier base plates were drilled
and machined to match the as-built layout
of each bolt group. With this work done,
each base plate was trial-fitted to check for
fit before the piers were finally installed,
surveyed and cast in place. This attention to
detail is critical to the successful installation
of this type of precision detailing.
The judges say this team solved an
unusual bridge alignment by producing a
thoroughly modern intervention in a postindustrial
landscape whose unique qualities
are derived from the constraints of the flood
relief requirements.
Using ingenious geometry and thorough
attention to detail, the prefabricated sealed
modular deck units appear to float on
impossibly slender vertical supports. The
result is an economic, robust and graceful
solution. The overall rippling effect of the
bridge is intriguing, yet it is rooted in logic;
a seamless integration of architecture and
engineering.
/Accuracy_of_steel_fabrication
/Connections_in_bridges#Bolted_connections
/Fabrication#Drilling_and_punching