Badminton Bridge, Acton Turville

Wednesday 23rd February 2000

Macrete have supplied a complete sectional pre-cast road-over-rail bridge using beams and cill units to AMCO Rail for installation at Luckington Road, Acton Turville in South Gloucestershire.

Electrification of the First Great Western Rail line between Swindon and South Wales called for an increase in clearance of the road overbridge by one metre. This was achieved by demolishing an existing bridge and installing a replacement bridge with an increase in the approach rise by 3.5 degrees to arrive at the new height.

The bridge package consisted of two precast external deck beams with parapet upstands of 65 tonnes each; three precast internal deck beams of 53 tonnes each; two precast approach units of 45 tonnes each; six precast cill beams at 10 – 18 tonnes each; and numerous other ancilliary precast components.

The design called for the incorporation of a large water main into the precast external deck/parapet units and approach units. This meant that Macrete had to cast in large double radius steel pipes through the units. These had to line up exactly in order for the water main to pass through freely on site. This was achieved through highly complex mould work.

The soffits of the deck beams were formed with large, double radius weathered steel plates, which were supplied to us for casting in. These soffit plates had to line up exactly to ensure the underside of the bridge aligned correctly when in place. This meant that Macrete had to fabricate a large timber soffit to match the curve of the plates and allow the units to line through.

Construction work on site entailed weekend rail possessions every weekend from December 10 to February 22, 2014 – a total of nine possessions in all.

Two 500 tonnes cranes were deployed in tandem to carry out the beam lifts, during some of the worst winter weather ever experienced in the region. The total construction was achieved in four months and the road re-opened in April, 2014.