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.
Road Structures

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Collaborative approach is delivering the Queensferry Crossing
    March 28, 2017
    The Queensferry Crossing forms the centrepiece of a major upgrade to the cross-Forth transport corridor in the east of Scotland. It will be the longest three-tower, cable-stayed bridge in the world and represents a Scottish Government capital investment of more than €1.5 billion. The 2.7km Queensferry Crossing is alongside the Forth Road Bridge and will carry the M90 motorway across the Firth of Forth between Lothian, at South Queensferry, and Fife, at North Queensferry. Each of the three towers are 207m
    Read More
  • Major project to construct landmark Bay Bridge in California
    October 31, 2012
    Iconic California crossing will offer seismic safety – Adrian Greeman reports A unique single-span single-tower suspension bridge is the iconic centrepiece of a dramatic renewal of the eastern Bay Bridge in California, crossing from San Francisco to Oakland. Tourists in San Francisco sometimes mix up their bridges, identifying as the famous Golden Gate, the double suspension bridge which runs across the wide San Francisco Bay. These serially linked bridges in fact form the Bay Bridge east to Oakland whereas
    Read More
  • Formwork solutions for bridge maintenance and repair
    January 6, 2015
    An array of innovative formwork solutions have helped in the repair and construction of key bridge links - Mike Woof writes Formwork producers are continually developing novel solutions for bridge maintenance and construction applications. Several key structures have benefited from the novel use of formwork systems, with suppliers such as Doka, PERI, Pilosio and RMD all working on important structures in recent times. In Estonia, construction work is underway on the bypass around Tartu, the country’s
    Read More
  • Bridge formwork solutions complete big bridge picture
    July 2, 2014
    Advanced bridge formwork solutions are allowing contractors to complete vital major highway infrastructure projects covering Norway, Sweden, Estonia and Poland. Guy Woodford reports Building the Labbdalen bridges in Norway is a key feature of the E6 highway improvement programme. Main project contractor HÆHRE tasked RMD Kwikform and Teknikk with supplying a complete formwork and shoring solution that could tackle the challenging Norwegian terrain, whilst preserving the environment. Situated two hours
    Read More

Highlighted Content