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

  • Swiss mini-motorways made bigger
    July 10, 2012
    Widening the busy A4 road in Switzerland to four lanes was achieved quickly by using the latest paving technology. Increased traffic required the widening of the A4 from two to four lanes along a 20km section, with two lanes separated by a central divider in each direction. Carrying 20,000-25,000 vehicles/day, the trunk road between Winterthur and Schaffhausen was one of Switzerland's busiest two-lane stretches, and as a result, the Federal Council of Switzerland in Bern planned an enlargement of the dual-l
    Read More
  • Making the U-turn
    August 2, 2012
    Political hostility to a toll road project in Australia has been turned around by the quality and amenity of the project writes Adrian Greeman Cars, trucks and vans were taking to the new EastLink toll road in Melbourne with enthusiasm this July, pleased to try out its 39km route for time and cost savings. As well as the convenience of the uncongested route, drivers were also able to view an extraordinary multi-shaded perspective of transparent green and orange noise wall panels, burnt earth-coloured retai
    Read More
  • Highway project in Texas required demolition equipment
    May 1, 2018
    A contractor in Texas has used equipment from Brokk to help out with a tricky highway project. Upgrading work has been carried out on a 6.4km-long stretch of I-35 in San Antonio between Loop 410 NE and Loop 410 S. This stretch of the route was carrying around 185,000 vehicles/day and was suffering increasing levels of congestion at peak periods. Travel times lengthened by 65% during rush hour, while ramps on opposite sides of the interstate caused additional congestion and safety issues. In one section, t
    Read More
  • New Zealand link
    May 15, 2012
    A major milestone has been achieved in New Zealand on a major road project that is intended to deal with a major traffic bottleneck in the city of Auckland. The launching gantry team has now installed the last segment of the new northbound viaduct, a key stage in the Newmarket Viaduct Replacement project. There is currently a 1.5m gap between the segments. So, on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th December the two viaducts will be cemented together in an 18 hour procedure known as the Stitch. From then until the e
    Read More

Highlighted Content