Bridge improvements reduce flood threat

The impact of the new Eden Bridge over the River Eden on its flood plain is a key issue to the construction of the Carlisle Northern Development Route (CNDR).
February 16, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A corrugated steel system from Tubosider UK was used for the culverts
The impact of the new Eden Bridge over the River Eden on its flood plain is a key issue to the construction of the Carlisle Northern Development Route (CNDR). The new 8.25km road is being built west of the city following the flooding of Carlisle in north-west England in 2005, and increased flood risk generally, The local study carried out by the 2759 Environment Agency in the wake of the 2005 floods recommended lowering the flood bank downstream by 1m and removing an old railway embankment to mitigate the future threat to Carlisle but placing added importance on the Eden plain's topography.

As a result of the flood modelling work carried out by 2762 Capita Symonds, the technical adviser managing the project for Cumbria County Council, the plan for the new bridge's northern embankment called for a series of culverts with a combined cross section of 160m².

Although the illustrative drawing featured a concrete hatched structure, design engineers Scott Wilson recommended the greater practicality and easier installation of a corrugated steel system as manufactured by 2580 Tubosider UK, also the providers of the most economical solution.

"Tubosider's bolted plate is 2309 Highways Agency-approved, sufficient to gain approval, and using its detailed plans for assembling each prefabricated component, all 15 culverts are now in place. The final solution was for ten large diameter structures of 6mm thickness and then five smaller ones of 4mm, all ranging in span from 3.32-4.46m.

It's a system 1486 Birse Civils has often used before," said design manager Bob Gibson of Birse Civils, contractors for the design and construction of the new road.

Due to open in early 2012, the CNDR will run from the A595 to M6 Junction 44 and is a £176 million (e200 million) public private partnership (PPP) concession contract run for Cumbria County Council by 1146 Balfour Beatty through its wholly-owned subsidiary Connect Roads. It will take traffic away from Carlisle centre and improve links between west Cumbria, Scotland and the north-east of England. As winning bidder, Balfour Beatty also takes control of 150km of existing road network and will maintain this for a period of 30 years.
Road Structures

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Greater Manchester's smart motorway M60 now fully-operational
    August 6, 2018
    Drivers using the M60 in the greater Manchester area now using the region’s first smart motorway, according to Highways England. The technology, which went line on July 31 on the final M60 section, includes electronic signs to guide drivers along at a variable but steady speed. Other technology includes an extra running lane in each direction along the M62 between junction 18 and junction 20 and CCTV cameras. The removal of narrow lanes and completion of the project will allow key sections of the M60
    Read More
  • Underground routes for highways
    July 20, 2012
    Increasingly, and where possible, roads are being built in tunnels often for environmental reasons, writes Patrick Smith As part of the new M7 motorway development in the southwest of Ireland, the four-lane route crosses the River Shannon near Limerick, before it flows into the Atlantic. Centrepiece of the 10km long Limerick Southern Ring Road is the required tunnelling (675m long), which including the north and south entrance and exit ramps, means it will be 915m long. Completion of the work is planned for
    Read More
  • Effective stabilisation
    February 24, 2012
    Contractor BAM Nuttall and specialist piling sub contractor Aarsleff Piling, have been working closely to develop a cost-effective solution to a tricky piling problem. The two firms have developed an alternative and versatile technique to reduce the risk of delays installing 2,150 precast concrete piles along part of the route of an innovative guided busway in Cambridgeshire in the UK.
    Read More
  • German road project for VINCI Highways
    March 16, 2022
    VINCI Highways has been awarded a major German road project.
    Read More

Highlighted Content