The great efforts of the teams involved in the management of the Forth Road Bridge closure have been recognised at the prestigious Scottish Transport Awards. Held in Glasgow, they were named Transport Partnership/Team of the Year.
The awards bring together the transport community to recognise and celebrate industry achievements across Scotland. Finalists are judged to be those who have showcased the best approach to improving and enhancing Scotland’s transport network to provide successful journeys for the travelling public.
Over 300 engineers, inspectors, welders and scaffolders from across our whole business worked around the clock in December, which resulted in being able to re-open the bridge to 91% of traffic just before Christmas – nearly two weeks ahead of schedule. The bridge was fully re-opened to HGVs in February this year.
Repairs included attaching new steel plates to the truss and new steel brackets to the tower legs, from which the top of the deck truss is supported via steel “strand jacks”. This effectively provides an additional cable hanger next to the main tower.
State-of-the-art structural monitoring systems were also installed on all eight truss end links to provide as much data as possible about the behaviour of the bridge, such as how much strain is being put on it, and the effects of changing climatic and traffic conditions.
A truss is basically a beam made up of triangles (which generally provides the most structural stability). Trusses are mostly used to support heavy loads over very long spans (such as bridges and airport hangar and stadium roofs) because they are lighter than regular girders and beams.
The teams were ably supported by our communications team who were finalists in the Excellence in Travel Information and Marketing category. The team managed all media enquiries and briefings for senior politicians, and provided a dedicated website for the public, keeping them up to date with all the progress of the repairs.
James Haluch, Managing Director of Highways said: “I am delighted to see the efforts of our teams get this well-deserved industry recognition. This is a brilliant example of how Amey can come together as a business to solve what was one of the most high-profile issues we’ve faced. I’m hugely grateful to everyone whose hard work is reflected in this award.”
When the bridge was reopened, Transport Minister Derek MacKay praised the teams involved, saying: "For the complex and detailed interim repair to have been completed in this timeframe is a tribute to the highly skilled and dedicated staff who have worked 24/7.”
You can find more information as well as videos and pictures of the repairs via the dedicated bridge website – www.forthroadbridge.org – and social media channels @forthroadbridge on Twitter and Facebook.