Skip to main content

Gloucester lift bridge is opened

The newly-opened High Orchard Bridge in Gloucester, south-west England, links the city's inner relief road to the new south-west bypass and provides access to the massive Gloucester Quays €293.5 million redevelopment scheme. The lift bridge structure was designed and constructed under a joint venture involving English Partnerships, British Waterways and developer Peel Holdings. The €11.74 million structure is a contemporary single-span bridge, with an efficient electro-hydraulic movable, 300tonne lifting d
July 12, 2012 Read time: 1 min
The newly-opened High Orchard Bridge in Gloucester, south-west England, links the city's inner relief road to the new south-west bypass and provides access to the massive Gloucester Quays €293.5 million redevelopment scheme.

The lift bridge structure was designed and constructed under a joint venture involving English Partnerships, British Waterways and developer Peel Holdings. The €11.74 million structure is a contemporary single-span bridge, with an efficient electro-hydraulic movable, 300tonne lifting deck.

DavyMarkham was contracted by civil engineering contractors Alun Griffiths to design and manufacture the mechanical, hydraulic and electrical elements of the bridge, notably the main pivot bearings, the deck operating system, tail locking assemblies and electrical control equipment. The bridge deck, supplied separately by structural steelwork company Rowecord, measures 28m long by 16m wide and weighs around 200tonnes, with an additional concrete and steel 100tonne counterweight in the tail section.

Related Content

  • Kilsaran power paves with Vögele
    July 31, 2012
    Kilsaran, a leading Irish contractor, building materials supplier and producer of concrete products, has completed construction of 11,000m² of hard standing at its first dedicated mortar plant using Vögele's most powerful wheeled paver. The plant in Brownstown, County Kildare, will produce a variety of mortars, including bagged products, for distribution throughout Ireland. The Vögele 1803-2 is one of four such machines operated by the company, and it complements a range of plant, including Hamm compaction
  • Long reach equipment simplifies demolition
    February 14, 2012
    Demolition is a highly specialised business, as the machinery required to carry out the work on high-rise demolition contracts can be very site specific. Today's high reach demolition rig is no longer simply a tracked excavator with a long boom, indeed some machines cannot be used as excavators at all. Likewise a machine that is dedicated to carrying a 2.5 or 3tonne shear or hammer will need to be built to take the stresses and strains of demolition life.
  • Long reach equipment simplifies demolition
    April 13, 2012
    Demolition is a highly specialised business, as the machinery required to carry out the work on high-rise demolition contracts can be very site specific. Today's high reach demolition rig is no longer simply a tracked excavator with a long boom, indeed some machines cannot be used as excavators at all. Likewise a machine that is dedicated to carrying a 2.5 or 3tonne shear or hammer will need to be built to take the stresses and strains of demolition life. Many of the ultra long boom machines are designed
  • Spencer Group cable access for Pattullo Bridge
    July 3, 2023
    Spencer is working on behalf of Fraser Crossing Constructors GP - a joint venture between Acciona and Aecon - on the suspension bridge near Vancouver, Canada.