HA dismantles footbridge over M5 in England

Contractors worked solidly throughout the night during one Saturday and early Sunday morning in November (2012) to dismantle the Pegwell Brake footbridge over the M5 near Bristol, south west England. The concrete footbridge, located between junctions 16 and 17, needed to be demolished to make way for a new steel pedestrian bridge suitable for high-sided vehicles to pass under when the managed motorway is fully operational and the hard shoulder is used as a running lane. The dismantling and removal of the
January 3, 2013 Read time: 2 mins

Contractors worked solidly throughout the night during one Saturday and early Sunday morning in November (2012) to dismantle the Pegwell Brake footbridge over the M5 near Bristol, south west England.

The concrete footbridge, located between junctions 16 and 17, needed to be demolished to make way for a new steel pedestrian bridge suitable for high-sided vehicles to pass under when the managed motorway is fully operational and the hard shoulder is used as a running lane.

The dismantling and removal of the 220tonne bridge required the M5 being closed in both directions for the duration of the work, from 7pm on Saturday 10 November until around 8am the following morning, when both carriageways were fully opened.
The bridge was dismantled into two sections, each of which was hoisted and removed by cranes. This method of removal was required to avoid excessive vibration due to the presence of a pipeline on the northbound carriageway.

The new pedestrian bridge is planned to be in place and available for use by early 2013.

2309 Highways Agency project manager Paul Unwin said: “The removal of the old bridge is an essential part of the managed motorway scheme, and the closures meant that our workers were able to concentrate on doing a fantastic job in dismantling the structure as quickly and as safely as possible.”

Once completed, the €109.72 million (£88mn) managed motorway scheme will cut congestion, make journey times more reliable and improve safety through the use of variable mandatory speed limits and by opening the hard shoulder as an extra running lane. 

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Highways England awards €2.1 billion of upgrades for UK motorways
    August 7, 2015
    Highways England has today appointed six joint-venture companies to design and build 10 “smart motorways” as part of a €2.1 billion investment. Construction contractors appointed are the Balfour Beatty and VINCI joint venture, a Costain and Galliford Try joint venture, as well as a Carillion and Kier joint venture. Designers are a CHM2 and Hyder joint venture, an Amey and Arup joint venture, as well as a Jacobs and Atkins joint venture. The award is the second major procurement to be given under th
    Read More
  • A Grove GMK4100L installs a footbridge across Ortigas Avenue
    July 4, 2019
    Steel Centre Philippines, a specialist steel design, fabrication and erector, has used a Grove GMK4100L all-terrain crane to install a 28m footbridge in the Philippines. Working for the local Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, a government agency, the company positioned the 20tonne bridge in only 30 minutes. The new footbridge sits in Ortigas Avenue, a major thoroughfare in Pasig City, located in Eastern Manila, where it serves as a walkway for pedestrians, said Irvin Ong, vice president of operati
    Read More
  • The radically changing face of UK highways management
    May 14, 2014
    The British Government policy paper ‘Action for Roads: A network for the 21st century’ sets out radical change to the strategic way roads are funded and managed – including plans to turn the Highways Agency into a Government-owned company and a pledge to invest over €33.4 billion (£28 billion) in roads maintenance between 2015 and 2020. Jenny Moten, Highways Agency divisional director for Network Services, gave a keynote presentation on the new approach to strategic highways management during the Road Safet
    Read More
  • A new tolled highway brings change for Austin, Texas
    February 10, 2020
    A new highway section in Austin, Texas marks a major departure for the southern US city
    Read More

Highlighted Content