Canal Bridge Repair, Bedford Street, Staffordshire
Bedford Street Bridge is No 2 across the Caldon Canal, looking north-west towards the junction with the Trent and Mersey Canal near Etruria.
The existing cast iron parapets had cracked and shattered meaning that the bridge was unsafe for pedestrians to cross. The bridge beams were in a poor state and there was damage to the brickwork and graffiti throughout. As well as this the footpath surfacing was failing and was in need of renewal.
Project Details
DESCRIPTION Bedford Street Canal Bridge
LOCATION Stoke-on-Trent
CLIENT Taziker Industrial
VALUE £690,000
COMPLETION May 2019
DURATION 5 Months
Cast Iron Canal Bridge Restoration
To sympathetically restore a traditional cast iron canal bridge which was showing signs of deterioration from years of environmental and pedestrian abuse.
Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Bridge Deck Panels
The solution required the installation of arched fibre reinforced polymer FRP bridge deck panels between the bridge beams to form permanent formwork.
Bridge Parapet & Padstone Preparation
During a canal closure APB were able to install a scaffold crash deck that would allow the removal of the bridge deck and beams without dropping any construction material into the canal below. All of the damaged cast iron parapets were removed and the parapet panels that remained intact were sent to the Canal and River Trust for storage and restoration.
The brick parapets to either end were knocked down and the bearing shelves exposed on either side following removal of the bridge deck. New elastomeric bearing pads were placed on the existing padstones and the new steel beams were placed into their required position.
FRP Panel Installation
Arched FRP panels were then placed between the bridge beams to form permanent formwork before lightweight concrete was poured over the beams and deck panels to form the main bridge deck.
New Cast iron panels were fabricated and brought to site where they were carefully placed between supporting steel uprights to mimic the previous panels that had been removed.
Bridge Deck Waterproofing
The bridge deck was then waterproofed before an anti-slip surface was applied to the top. The approaches to either side of the canal bridge were made good with new barriers and tarmac surfacing as well as replacement of brickwork to the brick approach parapets.