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Contractors World UK & Ireland Vol 6 No 1
34
New bridges in just three weeks
could be a boon for
flood hit areas
I
n the wake of the recent flooding events, many
district and local authorities are faced with the chal-
lenge of replacing large numbers of damaged and
broken bridges as soon as possible.
Speed of repair and returning life to normal quickly
is vital in the aftermath of these challenging situations.
This is especially so for key transport routes across dam-
aged bridges that has left communities separated or key
transport arteries impassable, with inevitable knock on
effects to access and on-going commercial activity.
ECS Engineering Services has recently installed new
bridge technologies and designs that have proven to be
highly successful, both in the UK and across Europe.
The bridge designs use a material called InfraCore®
Inside, which utilises advanced FRP composites to pro-
vide the required strength and safety standards, but
equally important, the capability to manufacture and
install bridges quickly.
Clarke Williamson, Director of Contracts for ECS
commented:
“Utilising standard designs for the InfraCore
Inside bridges means that we have been able to
manufacture and supply complete bridges in as
little as three weeks for small standard units or
only 5 weeks for longer or heavy traffic designs.
“Given the current challenges that some
areas are facing, this could be vital in getting
these communities operating and back to normal
as quickly as possible.”
Bridge repair and replacement can be costly, com-
plicated and above all time consuming. They require
considerable engineering expertise, project management
skills and often innovative approaches to highly chal-
lenging circumstances, which were never envisaged
when the bridges were first built.
However, it also provides an opportunity to utilise
new innovations and technologies that may be better
suited to changing weather patterns.
RAPID
RESPONSE
BRIDGING
SOLUTIONS?
Contractors World UK & Ireland