A435 Evesham By Pass – Simon de Montfort Bridge

Client

Balfour Beatty Construction Ltd for Department of Transport

Project Description

This river crossing was delivered as a steel & concrete composite alternative design to the pre-stressed concrete box girder design offered by the Client for tender. Three continuous skewed spans carry the by-pass over the River Avon and, construction in steel with lighter foundations proved a more economic solution. The aesthetics and span arrangement had been established demanding a curved soffit profile for good appearance, a shallow depth at mid-river to clear the navigation and intermediate piers located at the river banks. The steelwork design for the 15.2m wide deck was novel (at the time) using widely-spaced twin main plate girders and cross girders and represented the first of the, now popular, contemporary “ladder” bridges to be constructed in the UK

Cass Hayward Role(s)

• Design for tender
• Detailed design of superstructure, substructure and foundations
• Temporary works design and checking

Project Statistics

• Completed December 1986
• Bridge cost £820,000, saving £124,000
• Continuous spans – 28m, 42, 28m skewed at 17 degrees
• Steel girders vary in depth with curved profile from 1.23m to 2.33m

Special Features

• Alternative design subjected to scrutiny by Royal Fine Arts Commission
• Alternative design encouraged by mitigation of the risk arising from soft ground and flooding during construction of RC deck.
• Spread foundations constructed on Lias clay

Awards

• Structural Steel Design Awards 1988 - Commendation