Skip to main content

Mersey Gateway Bridge project progress

Work is well in hand on the Mersey Gateway Bridge project in the UK. The bridge construction work has now reached a major milestone. The south pylon of the Mersey Gateway has been completed, marking the project’s highest point in the River Mersey estuary. The south pylon stands 125m high, with the north pylon due to be completed in the next few days. The smaller central pylon, which is due to be finished in November, will be 80m high. A specialist automatic climbing system is being used to construct the
October 6, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The Mersey Gateway Bridge project in the UK has reached a major milestone in its construction
Work is well in hand on the 6126 Mersey Gateway Bridge project in the UK. The bridge construction work has now reached a major milestone. The south pylon of the Mersey Gateway has been completed, marking the project’s highest point in the River Mersey estuary. The south pylon stands 125m high, with the north pylon due to be completed in the next few days. The smaller central pylon, which is due to be finished in November, will be 80m high.

A specialist automatic climbing system is being used to construct the bridge pylons. This equipment builds one vertical 5m section at a time. It then repeatedly climbs upwards to create the next section until the structure is complete. Construction teams have completed 30 sections for the south pylon and 27 for the north pylon. In all, 21 sections will be built for the central pylon. A total of 2,230m3 of concrete was poured for the south pylon, and 1,890m3 for the north pylon.

Gareth Stuart, project director at Merseylink, said, “Hitting the highest point on the project is a significant milestone and it’s a testament to the tenacity and expertise of our construction crews who have worked extremely hard, often in challenging conditions, to get the job done. We’ll be holding a special site celebration to thank all of the teams involved.”

The next phase of work involves installing steel stay cables to connect the three bridge pylons to the main bridge deck. This will begin in the next couple of weeks. Halton’s six-lane river crossing is on schedule to open in autumn 2017.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • McCann lights up the M1 in major upgrade
    January 7, 2019
    UK engineering firm J. McCann is installing 500 lighting columns and accessories as part of a major 12km upgrade to one of England’s busiest motorways.
  • Bentley Systems is advancing construction software technology
    January 15, 2016
    Bentley Systems has unveiled a wealth of new construction software technologies that can help optimise the progression of road projects - Mike Woof writes A host of new tools and software developments from Bentley Systems will help designers and construction firms deliver projects more quickly and efficiently. Senior vice president for Bentley Systems is Bhupinder Singh and he explained, “Our users are using more software and more devices than ever before and they’re creating more data.” He said that
  • Bomag comes in first
    November 23, 2021
    Bomag equipment was essential for constructing the Mandalika circuit, according to R3, the project’s asphalt technical consultant.
  • Eradicating work zone danger
    June 26, 2013
    New safety systems for highway work zones are helping to reduce deaths and injuries in the United States, while much work is being done in Europe to improve work zone safety. Guy Woodford reports. With more road building underway than at any one time in Texas history, the US Lone Star state’s Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is introducing its first highway safety system with queue-warning technology and temporary rumble strips to cut work zone collisions. Debuting along a central Texas stretch of the