1 July 2008
The 800-tonne Wainwright Bridge in Blackburn has
officially opened.
The Highway and Infrastructure team from Capita Symonds’
Blackburn office oversaw the design, procurement and project
management of the £8m bridge project which is a fundamental part of
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council’s plans for the area’s
regeneration.
The new bridge is part of the first phase of the proposed link
road between Bolton Road and Montague Street which will forms part
of the Blackburn Orbital Route – a comprehensive overhaul of the
main access routes in and around the town. The bridge will also
provide vital access to nearby 'brownfield' sites that have been
earmarked for priority redevelopment as well as improving
connections to the local rail freight terminal.
Capita
Symonds provided structure design, project management, civil
engineering and landscape services on the project, which consists
of a single span 78m span steel bowstring arch bridge with a
steel/concrete composite deck carrying the dual carriageway which
connects Bolton Road to Canterbury Street. The previous four-span
bridge was restricted to a single lane one-way traffic flow from
south to north and was assessed as sub–standard in load carrying
capacity with a maximum 17 ton vehicle weight limit.
The scheme’s contractor - Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering -
began demolition of the original bridge in September 2006 while
construction of the new structure began in November 2006.The
majority of the funding for the scheme was provided by the
Department for Transport.
The bridge was named after Alfred Wainwright, the famous fell
walker and author of popular guides to walking in the Lake
District. The name was chosen after Blackburn with Darwen residents
voted in a bridge naming competition organised by local newspaper
The Lancashire Telegraph.
School children from the local St Anne’s RC Primary School were
the first to use the bridge, cycling across after a ribbon cutting
ceremony with the Mayor of Blackburn with Darwen - Councillor
Mohammed Khan - and MP Jack Straw.
Councillor Alan Cottam, executive member for regeneration, said:
“The Wainwright Bridge is a modern full width bridge for all –
cyclists, buses and cars. It does not have a height restrictions
like Darwen Street bridge and will bring traffic onto the new link
road, which also has access to all the car parks. It will also open
up a large area of the town centre for commercial development and
regeneration.”
Capita Symonds' Technical Director, Faris Samin said "This is by
far the most challenging civil engineering project we have
delivered in Blackburn. The team overcame significant technical
challenges in order to complete this landmark structure which will
be a catalyst for the Borough's ambitious regeneration strategy. We
are now looking forward to the completion of the next phase which
will see the creation of a direct link road between Bolton Road and
Montague Street.”