The refurbishment of Heyeswood Railway Bridge

Heyeswood Railway Bridge was constructed in 1958 and carries the A556 dual carriageway over an over-head electrified spur of the West Coast Mainline railway. The 45° skew deck comprises fabricated steel girders with reinforced concrete slabs at the top and bottom of the deck, forming a complete enclosure. The bridge had suffered deterioration as a result of a variety of factors resulting in significant spalling to both slabs. Interim strengthening was carried out in 1991. Major utilities were very restrictive. The most cost-effective long-term solution was to over slab the top slab, nominally repair the bottom slab and provide a unique load-carrying, glass-reinforced plastic enclosure to the soffit. This aspect of the design is emphasised. The top slab strengthening was carried out in two phases, enabling a contra-flow traffic system to be in place throughout. Work to the soffit had to be carried out under a series of Saturday night railway possessions. The project was carried out as part of the Highways Agency's innovative Construction Management Pilot. It is unlikely that this project could have been successfully concluded under a traditional, more adversarial contract.