A363 Bridge replacement Bradford-on-Avon

[Benjwri]

The steel girders had what looked like rows of bolts on top (sorry forget their name) which are embedded in deck concrete slab.

Shear connectors, they allow for composite action between the steel girders and concrete slab, they are unrelated to expansion.

The road surface is not flat, road is on a slight hill. There is the a layer of stone between the two (the brown layer), which isn't the local stone, Oolitic limestone (Bath stone), or nearby Mendip stone, both of which are a creamy colour. With the brown stuff, when you watch the layers being compacted with a vibrator it appears to compress down like it is slightly spongy, presumably this allows for some movement.

It's unlikely to be that, any expansion of the bridge will cause the pavement to crack without expansion joints. From post #78 it looks like they have cast down into the earth at either end, which creates an integral abutment. This is where the bridge is designed to resist internal lateral stresses, and therefore does not expand. It is becoming increasingly common practice in the UK, as it greatly reduces maintenance requirements, as bearings and expansion joints are areas while are prone to failure.

 

[Snow1964]

Few more photos, no sign of any road or footpath surfacing yet (apparently road is opening in 5 days time on 18th)

Still seems to be BT cables on scaffold bridge. Also took a couple of photos frome Frome Road Bridge, and can see the concrete bases for crash deck are still in, cables loose around them, and the concrete cable troughs still stacked




Couple of new photos 4pm Thursday
One footpath has been surfaced
Road is being surfaced

 

[Snow1964]

Road is surfaced, right hand (station) side path apparently needs BT openreach to finish work. Then walls need rebuilding. Some cones have appeared with parking bays suspended to 21 Jan

 

[edwin_m]

Will they just re-open it with the incomplete footway barriered off? It doesn't seem to lead anywhere anyway.

 

[Snow1964]

Will they just re-open it with the incomplete footway barriered off? It doesn't seem to lead anywhere anyway.

Open with small strip of road also barriers off.

 

[swt_passenger]

Will they just re-open it with the incomplete footway barriered off? It doesn't seem to lead anywhere anyway.

IIRC when open it was the normal southbound A363 (a one way street) - the through route towards the Trowbridge direction. I suppose traffic has got used to the diversion, but once the diversion signage is removed won’t the traffic return?

 

[edwin_m]

IIRC when open it was the normal southbound A363 (a one way street) - the through route towards the Trowbridge direction. I suppose traffic has got used to the diversion, but once the diversion signage is removed won’t the traffic return?

I wasn't being very clear, I intended to refer to the unopened footway not leading anywhere. The first photo on #154 photos shows it just ending on the north side of the bridge. Isn't part of the diversion one way in normal circumstances, so when that is restored traffic towards Trowbridge will have to go this way?

 

[swt_passenger]

I wasn't being very clear, I intended to refer to the unopened footway not leading anywhere. The first photo on #154 photos shows it just ending on the north side of the bridge.

Oh right. Sorry for jumping to the other conclusion!

…Isn't part of the diversion one way in normal circumstances, so when that is restored traffic towards Trowbridge will have to go this way?

Streetview suggests at least as far back as 2009 the other two sides of what is a triangle of roads were both 2 way, ie there were two routes possible from the town centre towards Trowbridge.

 

[Snow1964]

A few new photos of the open bridge

The temporary scaffold bridge is still there. There is local sign that suggests overnight road closure 4th Jan so possibly that will be when it is being removed.

Gaps remain in wall where BT cable has been running to scaffold bridge.

The compound in car park has been reduced in last fortnight and about third of the blocked station car park spaces reopened

 

[Snow1964]

Latest update from Network Rail

Bradford on Avon - Work update​ Good afternoon, We wanted to provide you with a further update on our progress with the bridge works. It may look like there is no work taking place on the bridge at the moment, however, Openreach continue to work to install and reconnect their cables, there is 1 fibre optic cable left to be installed and reconnected, these elements of works are being undertaken from locations around Bradford on Avon. Once Openreach have completed the above works, you will see more activity within the carriageway incursion to complete the remaining works, it is anticipated that the last remaining items of work will take around 3 week complete. The works left to do are rebuilding a bridge parapet, removing the service bridge, installing new kerbs and resurfacing. We will do the majority of this work during the day but there will be times that we will need to do some night time working to keep our staff safe while working on the track. The exact timings will be confirmed nearer the time. We will review the length of the carriageway incursion to see if it can be cut back to allow a couple of parking bays to be used, noting that there will still be a requirement for some of the bays to be suspended.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us using the details below.

 

[Snow1964]

Latest email 02/02/24, after 7 weeks since main work finished, looks like going to be able to start filling gaps in parapet walls.

The temporary scaffold cable bridge has not yet been removed

Good morning, We wanted to reach out to you and advise that work is still ongoing in the area. From Monday, we'll be commence work on the stone walls, this will be done during daytime hours between 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday. Openreach still has some work outstanding with their cables on the bridge. As soon as this is done, we will then be in the position to finish the rest of the work needed here and open the road fully. There have been a couple of enquiries received about bin collections in the area. We're collecting bins from the houses that are affected by the barriers in place (Nos 5a to 31). If the rubbish is not being collected please get in touch with the council at https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/rubbish-and-recycling-missed-bin-collection We are reviewing the parking and traffic management while we are carrying out work here. For safety, Openreach would like the traffic management to stay in place until they have completed their work.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us using the details below.

 

[Snow1964]

Some new pictures 17th February 2024

The walls have almost been rebuilt, although not yet finished.

The scaffold bridge is still in place (although cables and pipes were removed while ago). Line was closed last weekend and again this weekend so surprising still there.

The signalling and other cables have not yet been moved back to concrete troughs are are still laying on side of trackbed.

The work on this bridge was originally supposed to be 8-9 months Sept 2022-early May 2023, timescale has effectively doubled.

 

[Snow1964]

Scaffolding cable bridge has gone, can now see bridge clearly. Wall rebuilds also finished. Looks like surfacing footpath is only outstanding work.

 

[WesternBiker]

Scaffolding cable bridge has gone, can now see bridge clearly. Wall rebuilds also finished. Looks like surfacing footpath is only outstanding work.View attachment 153122View attachment 153123View attachment 153124

At last...!
Thank you for the ongoing progress updates and photographs on this. It has turned into a real marathon.

 

[Ploughman]

Is all the scrap and rubbish going to be cleared up before handover?

 

[Snow1964]

Work has been going on today, with the other footpath surfaced with tar, although a short length of path at Trowbridge end has not yet been done.

About half the remaining road barriers have been removed from carriageway and stacked in big pile.

I am guessing a small extra quantity of tar tomorrow will allow the roadway to be fully opened. (The original completion date was early May 2023) so what started as a 8 month job, has overrun 10 months.

Is all the scrap and rubbish going to be cleared up before handover?

The rusty scrap track lying between the running lines was there in first picture 20 months ago. There have been at least 3 full weekend closures since then, but no attempt to collect it yet.

 

[WesternBiker]

Thanks again for the pictures. Good to see it inching along…

 

[Snow1964]

Update email from Network Rail, will try and get some photos today or tomorrow

Hello, Traffic management will be removed on the bridge today and we would like to thank you for your patience and understanding while we completed the work here. We understand that the work had caused an inconvenience for many and we were around a lot longer than we had first anticipated. This was due to a couple of issues on-site, with schedules being cancelled during the industrial strike action that took place and third party essential work. There will be some finishing work to complete over the weekend, this will include breaking out concrete and can be noisy and we are sorry if we do disturb you this weekend. The work will take place from 10pm this Saturday until 7am on Sunday.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us using the details below.

Photos

Sunday 10th March
Looks like the concrete foundations for the crash deck have been broken out, but so far the concrete troughing hasn't been replaced (it is still in a stack other side of track)

 

[WesternBiker]

Update email from Network Rail, will try and get some photos today or tomorrow



PhotosView attachment 153879View attachment 153880View attachment 153881View attachment 153882View attachment 153883

Sunday 10th March
Looks like the concrete foundations for the crash deck have been broken out, but so far the concrete troughing hasn't been replaced (it is still in a stack other side of track)

View attachment 153938

Well, finally finished, and it all looks good. Thank you for your diligent recording of all this over the past months.

 

[DelW]

Phew, what a saga - I note that completion was almost a year beyond the intended date quoted in the first post.

But never mind, the completed bridge fits in well with its surroundings, and I expect the new stonework will blend in after a year or two of weathering.

It must be a relief for the locals to see it all finished at last!