Building the bridge

Sheffield heavy engineering company, DavyMarkham has gained a £0.75m contract for the mechanical, electrical and hydraulic elements of a spectacular lifting bridge spanning the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal.

Designed by Bristol architects White Young Green, the St Ann Way Bridge will link the inner relief road to the newly-completed bypass, and provide a focal point for the regeneration of central Gloucester, being led by the Gloucester Heritage Urban Regeneration Company.

The contract was awarded by leading civil engineering construction company, Alun Griffiths Contractors, and the bridge project itself is being funded and managed by national regeneration agency, English Partnerships, supported by the South West RDA.

The bridge is an elegant bascule design with a single counterbalanced 28m movable span, stiffened by tensioned cables attached to a tubular steel gantry and raised by means of two hydraulic cylinders. It will carry a single carriageway road, with shared pedestrian and cycling routes one either side, and provide a 6m draught to allow the majority of boats to pass beneath when lowered, although it will be raised for tall-masted vessels negotiating the main 12m-wide navigation channel.