Bridges
Bridges provide essential infrastructure to the communities they connect, so their structural condition and functionality are critical to the transport network.
Traffic type, loads, topography, geology, climate, seismic hazards and environmental impacts are all key considerations for where a new bridge is built and how it is designed.
Existing crossings have their own challenges. Where structures are damaged, they require repair. And those that are ageing and weakened need refurbishing and strengthening to ensure they are resilient to the changing climate and heavier loads.
Every project must be technically and aesthetically correct, durable, economical, and the most sustainable solution for a given location.
What can we do for you?
Over the past 100 years we have been involved in the delivery of some of the world’s greatest landmark bridges, establishing our business as one of the leaders in this field. Our track record includes the Tyne, Forth Road and Severn crossings in the UK, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in the USA, the 40 bridge structures on the Sea-to-Sky highway in Canada, and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.
Our engineering work ranges from small pedestrian bridges through to striking cable stay bridges and major suspension bridges on estuarial crossings. We also extend the life of existing crossings, combining our structural expertise and extensive knowledge of materials with digital tools to help us assess the condition of structures and identify how best to repair and strengthen them.
Modern design solutions
We combine our own digital solutions with advanced, industry standard software to deliver cost-effective designs that add long term value and save on carbon, cost and time. Parametric modelling enables our engineers to propose multiple design options and optimise structural efficiency, strength, aesthetics and buildability. Meanwhile our own carbon tool shows the carbon impact for different design and material solutions to inform decision making.
Industrialised construction
Where there is the potential to build offsite, we apply industrialised principles such as standardisation and rationalisation, prefabrication and offsite manufacturing, and automation to speed up construction. Benefits include better value for money through productivity, efficiency, predictability, quality and safety.
Longer lifespan
Assessments of existing structures play an increasing role in the management of assets for bridge owners. We undertake inspection, monitoring, testing, detailed structural assessment and feasibility design for the strengthening and refurbishment of ageing crossings. Digital tools enable us to capture data on the condition of structures and monitor changes over time, using the information to support proactive maintenance, improve operational performance and safety, and extend lifespan.
Material conditions
We develop and deliver innovative repair and remediation techniques including cathodic protection, corrosion inhibitors, fibre composite strengthening, electrochemical osmosis and remote corrosion monitoring. Our award winning materials engineers have successfully pioneered the application of innovative cathodic protection solutions for bridges, reducing repair and replacement costs.
Building resilience
Extreme weather events can wash away crossings or change riverbeds, causing scouring to bridge foundations. Combining our experience of bridge engineering and our knowledge of climate change impacts, we have developed digital solutions to help bridge owners identify vulnerable structures. This enables the proactive protection of specific assets and prioritising which bridges to investigate when flooding occurs.
Harlech Castle footbridge, Snowdonia, UK. The structural form of the 46m footbridge avoids the use of bulky beams and keeps the superstructure beneath deck level to minimise interference with views of Snowdonia.
Innovative bridge engineering for the future
We deliver at every stage of a bridge project, from initial planning and feasibility studies through concept and detailed design, costing and specification, procurement, project management, construction management and supervision to inspection, repair and maintenance.
We work with owners, contractors and investors in the rail, highways, water and energy sectors through all procurement models, including design and build, public private partnerships and engineer’s design.
Our experience
We are working with owners and contractors to plan, design and deliver new bridges and extend the life of existing crossings, including:
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Harlech Castle footbridge, Snowdonia, UKTo improve access to a 13th century castle in Snowdonia, we designed a floating bridge that enables visitors to enter as originally intended – at level and perpendicular to the castle wall. The structural form of the 46m footbridge avoids the use of bulky beams and keeps the superstructure beneath deck level to minimise interference with views of Snowdonia.
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Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau BridgeWe were lead designer for a 9.4km viaduct at the Hong Kong end of this dual three-lane link with Macau and mainland China. The bridge crosses the Pearl River estuary, one of the world’s busiest shipping channels. It is formed from pre-stressed concrete box sections and was constructed using the balanced cantilever method.
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HS2 bridges, West Midlands, UKWhere the UK’s new HS2 high speed route crosses three existing lines, we designed bridges that were constructed offline and moved into position in just hours, minimising disruption to services. The bridges, weighing up to 6,200t, were either lifted or wheeled into position and the track reinstated in a matter of hours, allowing train services on the existing lines to rapidly resume. Benefits include better value for money through productivity, efficiency, predictability, quality and safety.
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HS2 Phase 1 North structural dynamics analysis, UKAs part of the design for a 90km stretch of HS2 that includes many viaducts, our engineers analysed the structural designs to ensure they meet standards for dynamic behaviour. We developed pioneering validation software called Mabel to rapidly analyse the dynamic response of structures, saving time and money.
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HS2 smart object library, UKWith some 500 designers from ten disciplines working on HS2, we took the opportunity to develop standardised design solutions that can be optimised and used repeatedly, bringing time and cost savings as well as the quality benefits that come with factory manufacture. Our HS2 Smart Object Library contains more than 600 standardised BIM objects for common design elements, including beams, slabs and panels, culverts and parapets.
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Infrastructure recovery programme, Cumbria, UKIn the aftermath of Storm Desmond in 2015, we worked with Cumbria County Council to rebuild its shattered infrastructure. Almost 800 bridges were damaged. Several stone-built river crossings, some of which had stood for hundreds of years, were swept away. In addition to repairing or replacing crossings, we also took the opportunity to improve the long-term resilience of bridges and introduce flood alleviation measures.
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Orbital Highway, Doha, QatarOur design for a 60km stretch of the 14-lane highway required two existing four-span bridges to be widened. Our client preferred a seamless connection between the existing and new bridges, which also had to comply with the latest earthquake criteria. Our solution avoided the need for the demolition of the existing bridges and provided a robust solution in case of a seismic event.
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Ordsall Chord, Manchester, UKManchester's main city centre stations were not connected to each other directly by rail and the existing lines were running at full capacity during peak times. Our solution, a 540m linking railway known as Ordsall Chord, required realigning existing track, building new bridges and viaducts, and removing redundant structures, while working near a live railway, roads and a river, heritage structures, local businesses and the public.
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San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, USAAfter the collapse of a section on the eastern side, we worked on the replacement, a 624m self-anchored suspension bridge capable of withstanding seismic events. Innovations include a single continuous cable that loops around the deck ends, yielding a self-contained structural system that is highly resilient, and seismic joints between the deck segments that act like fuses.
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Troja Bridge, Prague, Czech RepublicThe 200m Troja Bridge, which is 34m wide, comprises two standalone structures separated by an expansion joint. The bridge carries pedestrian and cycle traffic, four lanes of road traffic, and a double tracked tram line. Our engineers prepared the preliminary, tender and detailed design for the crossing, which spans the Vltava River in Prague.
Intelligent Content
Intelligent Content provides a managed library of information-rich, parametric BIM objects that can be reused instead of recreated, and optimised with each successive use. A team of experts creates and quality-checks all objects, reducing model development time and enabling the rapid prototyping of designs.
