Skip to main content

Cofferdams completed for Sunderland city’s New Wear River Crossing

In the UK, foundation work for Sunderland city’s new bridge is about to start as the huge cofferdam in the middle of the River Wear nears completion. Water has been drained out of the cofferdam, a large steel watertight structure within the river, to allow the building of pylons for the bridge deck. It is the first bridge to be built over the Wear in Sunderland for more than 40 years and is part of the wider strategic transport plan to link the Port of Sunderland and city centre with the A19 road.
May 25, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Cofferdam construction to allow work on main pylon foundations
In the UK, foundation work for Sunderland city’s new bridge is about to start as the huge cofferdam in the middle of the River Wear nears completion.

Water has been drained out of the cofferdam, a large steel watertight structure within the river, to allow the building of pylons for the bridge deck.

It is the first bridge to be built over the Wear in Sunderland for more than 40 years and is part of the wider strategic transport plan to link the Port of Sunderland and city centre with the A19 road.

Before the end of the year, a 105m A-frame pylon will be floated from Belgium on a giant barge before being slowly hoisted into position on the river. It will take several hours to raise the pylon and secure it.

Stephen McCaffrey, project director for FVB joint venture, created by 1622 Farrans Construction and Victor Buyck Steel Construction, said the positioning of the pylon will be “a very complex project” and “not straightforward”.

Farrans Construction is a building and civil engineering contractor across the UK and Ireland. Victor Buyck is based in Belgium and specialises in major structural steelwork, especially steel bridges. The FVB joint venture is supported by their design team led by Buro Happold Engineering and Roughan & O'Donovan.

Sunderland City Council is holding a two-phase consultation to find a name for the new bridge.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • World’s largest bridge deck for KAIA expansion
    December 16, 2013
    A bespoke formwork solution from RMD Kwikform is playing a key role in creating the largest ever airport cast bridge deck as part of the multi-billion dollar expansion of King Abdulaziz International Airport near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The firm is also a leading player in the creation of arterial tunnels under the airport’s elevated roads, another key part of the project’s first phase works due for completion in 2014. Guy Woodford reports
  • Kronprinsesse Marys Bro bridges Roskilde Fjord
    January 10, 2019
    A BESIX joint venture is giving the royal treatment to the new Kronprinsesse Marys Bro across Roskilde Fjord, writes David Arminas It was announced in September 2016 that Belgian group BESIX, in a joint venture (RBAI) with Italian firm Rizzani de Eccher and Spanish company Acciona Infraestructuras, had been chosen for the €133 million project. The award, by client Vejdirektoratet (Danish Road Directorate), marked the entry of BESIX into the Scandinavian market. Vejdirektoratet praised the winning bid as
  • Duisburg double for lift specialist Sarens
    June 5, 2024
    Heavy lift specialist Sarens overcame challenging wind and water conditions during installation of two strategic road bridges - the Oberbürgermeister Karl Lehr Brücke and the Hafenkanalbrücke - in the German city of Duisburg.
  • Romania’s important bridge project
    October 5, 2022
    Romania’s important Braila Bridge project will deliver a key crossing spanning the Danube River