Skip to main content

Harsco goes Forth

Harsco Infrastructure (HI) is providing bespoke scaffolding for a major refurbishment project being carried out on the famous Forth Road Bridge in Scotland. The £710,000 contract is seeing HI scaffolding used to allow work to be carried out to replace the large bearings which support each end of the structure, with no disruption to traffic using the bridge.
June 25, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
1483 Harsco Infrastructure (HI) is providing bespoke scaffolding for a major refurbishment project being carried out on the famous Forth Road Bridge in Scotland.

The £710,000 contract is seeing HI scaffolding used to allow work to be carried out to replace the large bearings which support each end of the structure, with no disruption to traffic using the bridge.

HI was said to have been chosen by 1146 Balfour Beatty on the basis of its competitive tendering, and the fact that the two companies have worked together on a large number of previous successful projects.

“Despite its size we wanted to ensure we did not over-complicate the project,” said Harsco sales director Tony Knight. “Although we frequently design and produce new products to satisfy individual project requirements, this contract demonstrates our ability to design and construct a bespoke solution for a complex project, primarily using standard products from our range.”

The Forth Road Bridge spans the Firth of Forth and connects Edinburgh with Fife. While its centre section is suspended from cables, the approach sections which link this to either side of the Firth rest on large bearings that sit on top of concrete piers. These bearings allow the approach decks to move in response to traffic loading and temperature changes, and it is these that are being replaced.

“This involves the workforce having access to some of the more remote areas of the bridge structure and so our aim was to create a solution which would provide this, whilst still ensuring complete safety,” added Knight.

The Bridge refurbishment work is expected to be completed this summer.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Closer ties with Highways England Collaborative Delivery Framework
    April 13, 2017
    Highways England is reconsidering its procurement to encourage innovation and ultimately deliver more for less. Kristina Smith spoke to client, contractors and material suppliers to find out more. A group of senior managers is being addressed by a local resident who lives close to some proposed road works. The resident is angry, persistent and quite rude. The question is: how will these managers respond?
  • Superlative formwork’s global appeal
    April 25, 2013
    The latest formwork solutions are enabling some tough bridge-building projects to be delivered in South America and Europe, while the world’s largest construction equipment show is seeing the merits of other cutting-edge formwork. Guy Woodford reports. Taking a road and rail link across one of South America’s largest rivers, together with its swamps and floodplain, calls for a new crossing of superlative dimensions. Two 135.5m pylons for the third bridge across the Orinoco River in Venezuela are taking shap
  • Speeding repairs of concrete motorway
    April 2, 2014
    A novel technique is now being introduced in the UK that can help cut construction costs, as well as the time needed for road repairs. Connect Plus, the company that finances, operates and upgrades the 400km M25 network on behalf of the UK’s Highways Agency, has pioneered an innovative method for the replacement of life-expired concrete motorway The introduction of this method is helping reduce the delays experienced by drivers by as much as 80% in the sections of road where it is now being implemented.
  • Storstrom Bridge to be Denmark’s third longest
    March 8, 2018
    Form and functionality come together in Denmark’s latest Storstrom Bridge design. David Arminas reports. An Italian joint venture recently won the construction contract for what will be one of Denmark’s longest bridges, the replacement 4km-long road and rail Storstrom Bridge. The Danish Road Directorate - Vejdirektoratet - awarded the work to a joint venture of Condotte and Grandi Lavori Fincosit along with bridge design consultant Seteco Ingegneria as a subcontractor. Estimated cost is around €550 milli