Skip to main content

A wheely great bridge for the English city of Hull

A 60m pre-constructed pedestrian bridge weighing 150 tonnes as been wheeled into position over the A63 in the northern English city of Hull. The covered and vaulted Princess Quays Bridge will be renamed when it opens in the spring enabling pedestrians and cyclists to cross over the busy dual carriageway. The positioning operation meant that first the route was cleared of signage, guardrails and street lights. The bridge was then lowered onto two wheeled transporters – one at each end of the structur
November 6, 2019 Read time: 2 mins
Driving it home: Hull’s newest pedestrian bridge, above the busy A63, is carefully positioned and eventually lowered onto its foundations
A 60m pre-constructed pedestrian bridge weighing 150 tonnes as been wheeled into position over the A63 in the northern English city of Hull.


The covered and vaulted Princess Quays Bridge will be renamed when it opens in the spring enabling pedestrians and cyclists to cross over the busy dual carriageway.
 
The positioning operation meant that first the route was cleared of signage, guardrails and street lights. The bridge was then lowered onto two wheeled transporters – one at each end of the structure -  and ‘driven’ across Myton Street and along the westbound carriageway of the A63 to the marina.

Finally, the structure required a multiple point turn to position it above the pylons onto which it was lowered and secured.

The bridge is covered by a curving steel canopy and when finished will have sheltered viewing balconies at each end. As part of the bridge construction there will be new landscaped public areas at both the Princes Quay and marina sides.

The 8100 Highways England project, which is the first phase of the A63 Castle Street road improvement scheme, will help link the city’s marina with the southern end of Princes Quay Dock.

“Our team worked exceptionally hard throughout the weekend to move the street furniture, prepare the route and position the bridge by wheeling it to its final destination,” said Tom Peckitt, Highways England project manager. “The team worked throughout the night after the installation to reopen the A63 15 hours ahead of schedule.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Fast-track Biloxi Bay bridge
    July 18, 2012
    Construction of a bridge destroyed in a hurricane was completed early, and with some added aesthetic benefits Hurricane Katrina, one of the deadliest and costliest natural disasters in US history, made landfall on 29 August, 2005, devastating the Gulf Coast. The US 90 Bridge over Biloxi Bay (connecting the communities of Biloxi and Ocean Springs, Mississippi) was one of many major highway and railroad bridges knocked out of service due to extensive storm damage. The eye of the storm passed 96km west of Bilo
  • New Norwegian bridge open to traffic
    December 11, 2018
    A new bridge is now open to traffic in Norway. The Hålogaland Bridge has a total length of 1,533m and a main span of 1,145m and is Norway's second longest suspension bridge. The structure was designed by COWI and crosses the deep waters of Rombaksfjorden in northern Norway. The bridge will improve road safety, as well as reducing the distance between Narvik and Bjerkvik by 18km. The pre-existing route around Rombaksfjorden is frequently exposed to landslides and the opening of the bridge shortens travel tim
  • Turkey’s important new tunnel will improve transport links
    May 18, 2016
    Major advances in tunnelling will allow cars to travel underneath the Bosphorus sea channel in Turkey's Istanbul next year when its third road link is opened, writes Adrian Greeman. The Bosphorus is redolent with history and strategic significance. As one of the world's most significant sea connections, linking the landlocked Black Sea to the Marmara Sea and the Mediterranean beyond, it has been vitally important for trade and crucial for military access. It is also one of the biggest obstacles for land tra
  • Mersey Gateway Bridge has won IABSE’s Outstanding Structure Award
    September 19, 2019
    The UK’s Mersey Gateway Bridge has picked up the Outstanding Structure Award 2019 from IABSE, the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering* Judges described the bridge, designed by Cowi, as "an elegantly integrated solution for a multi-span concrete cable stay bridge in which form follows function". "Everyone involved with the design and construction the Mersey Gateway Bridge over the past six years knows that this is an incredibly special structure,” said Paul Sanders, Cowi’s p