Warden Bridge Bearing Replacement

The Challenge

The bridge is a steel, three span continuous half-through truss supported on two abutments and two piers, loaded with ballast and carrying two rail tracks. The bridge was originally designed to articulate on eight mechanical rocker bearings. Ekspan inspected the bridge bearings and concluded that the main bridge bearings at the abutments needed to be replaced which would require works to the abutment stonework to allow safe access for the works.

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The Vertical Approach: Safety, Quality, Innovation & Agility

Safety

The works were undertaken using Work Restraint combined with lifting and hoisting from a telehandler.  

Quality

Before the coping stones could be re-instated the abutment walls had to be repaired using fracture stitching, stonework replacement and repointing with lime mortar. The personnel who undertook this operation were highly skilled stone masons supervised by VA personnel.

Innovation

The blocks weighed up to 350kg and were wedged underneath the main trusses so removal was to be a complex process which had to be undertaken without affecting the railway being affected by the removal operations.

Agility

The works were to replace the main bearings which would require the removal and reinstatement of the mass stone blocks that form the coping stones for the abutments, these works were undertaken by Vertical Access Ltd and allowed Ekspan to undertake the bearing replacement with the minimum of access from the railway.

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Outcome & Feedback

Following VA’s site works, Ekspan were able to undertake the replacement of the bridge bearings under possession of the railway.

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