Three Important Rail Bridges Completed Inside Tight Deadlines

Key Infrastructure Replacement Two of the bridges (at Mauldeth Road and Fog Lane) were on the vital Manchester Airport railway line, which made adherence to the overall project schedule especially critical. The previous Mauldeth Road bridge had been in place for over a hundred years since the opening of the line in 1909. As the bridge replacements entailed road closures and stoppages to a major train line, contractors were under pressure to meet their deadlines. Jamestown's involvement lasted approximately five months from start to finish. Large steel plates varying from 20 metres long, 22 tonnes piece weight, 3.5m wide, 125mm thick were all used in this project. Collaboration and Cooperation Jamestown's project team Niall Fortune (Process Manager) and Aidan Clear (Production Manager) worked closely with the main contractor, J. Murphy and Son, and several other key partners to ensure no time was wasted. Sub-contractors working for Jamestown on the bridges included concrete precasters, certified waterproofing, Large Mobile Craneage, Heavy Haulage specialists, Hi-spec painters, machining shops and non-destructive testing companies, so careful coordination between all parties was a vital factor in the success of the projects. Handling Large Steel Plates A challenge for this project was the size of the plates that were required to make these large bridge sections. Plates varying from 20 metres long, 22 tonnes piece weight, 3.5m wide, 125mm thick were all used in this project. The Mauldeth Road Bridge required 85 tonne decks sections. Adherence to tight site schedule of works was aided by a trial erection at the Jamestown site which assured all newly manufactured concrete and steel components fitted together perfectly with the existing structures. Delivery by road of these abnormal loads also presented a logistical problem which needed to be overcome. Nonstandard Steel Used The grades used for this project were S355K2W+N and S460NL; included were 19 metre long and 3.5m wide weathering steel plates. Jamestown needed its specialist knowledge of sourcing to obtain long heavy material in an uncommon grades and sizes - in this case 125 mm K2W plate, 3.4 metres in width. For these special grade materials, new weld procedures were developed and advanced welding processing used to increase productivity on the extreme heavy welding that was required. Successful High-Profile Projects These important infrastructure projects attracted considerable attention from local news media. The Manchester Evening News website features video of the Fog Lane bridge being lifted into place. Manchester's Lord Mayor, Carl Austin-Behan, posed for a photograph in front of it, saying “It’s not every day you get to see a bridge replacement taking place.” Tony Drummond, the Project Manager for the Plemstall bridge, said: “All went well with the project.” Noel Ndlovu, CRE for Fog Lane and Mauldeth Road, said” Both jobs went well” Need to know more abot this project or similar projects? Please get in touch.