Grade 1 listed project nears completion

With eight years of complex repairs to the High Level Bridge (HLB) across the River Tyne nearing completion, plans are being made for an official re-opening on 30 May.

"An extremely cost effective solution involving a very high profile structure"

Historic Bridges Awards' judging panel

The HLB was built by Robert Stephenson and first opened in 1849. We've been working on the bridge since 2001 when we became involved in emergency repairs. Since then it has evolved in to a significant refurbishment project valued at £42m.

At the peak of the project we were employing upwards of 200 people, while working a 12-day fortnight with both day and night shifts.

John Wilkinson, Managing Director Project and Rail Engineering Services, says: "The scheme has been highly complex due to logistical constraints and careful programme management has been imperative to its success.

"Up until April 2007 we were still identifying defects requiring repair - we had no defined scope of works until we completed the full inspection of the bridge."

Furthermore, the fixed work scope was incredibly complicated to achieve. The bridge is Grade 1 listed so every repair or permanent work item has had to obtain Listed Building Consent, which has involved English Heritage and both Newcastle and Gateshead Councils.

John Wilkinson adds: "Combine this with the fact that you are replacing an entire road deck some 25m above the River Tyne and you get to appreciate the difficulties we faced.

"To maximise the programme opportunities we reconstructed the bridge from both ends in, therefore maximising any potential 'float' in the programme, which has been used to accommodate the numerous additional defects identified."

In November 2007, the project was awarded a Historic Bridges & Infrastructure Award for cast iron fatigue testing carried out as part of the refurbishment.

The testing was carried out in conjunction with the University of Manchester to gain an understanding of the level of fatigue and stressing within the bridge's cast iron cross girders.

The judges said the project 'demonstrates that cutting-edge research can pay dividends - an extremely cost effective solution involving a very high profile structure'.

Related stories:-
Network Rail awards property maintenance framework
HLB features in Construction News

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