Eastham Bridge
Rebuilding the damaged bridge
Background
Eastham Bridge collapsed in May 2016 after one of the bridge piers was victim of scour. Scouring occurs due to fast flowing water and can lead to the removal of sediment around bridge piers.
The bridge reopened to traffic in April 2017 and construction fully completed in September 2017.
Fascinating Facts about the new bridge
- The bridge is supported by twelve reinforced concrete pile foundations that go down to a depth of 25 metres
- Our contractors reclaimed and cleaned 12,500 bricks from the old structure that will be used as cladding for the new bridge
- The very first vehicle to drive across the bridge was the Lindridge First School minibus, driven by Derek Trow – the same bus and driver that noticed the first signs that the old bridge was about to collapse
- The main span of the bridge consists of two pairs of braced steel beams, 33 metres long and weighing in at 84 tonnes, which would be the equivalent weight of 15 mature male African elephants
- The steel has been produced in Britain; manufactured in Teesside, from 504 individually cut steel plates welded into 12 steel girders and 134 angle bracings
- These were then fabricated in Port Talbot, South Wales by long-established family company Braithwaite Engineers Ltd. The company has been trading since the 1880s and were on site to safely oversee the delivery ready for assembly
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