PROJECT
LAGANGATEWAYBRIDGE, STRANMILLIS
CIVIL ENGINEERING SPECIALISTS, CHARLES BRAND, SUCCESSFULLY DELIVERED THE £5.2M LAGAN GATEWAY PROJECT TO PROVIDE A NEW PEDESTRIAN, CYCLE BRIDGE AND REFURBISHMENT OF THE WEIR AND NAVIGATION LOCK ON THE RIVER LAGAN AT STRANMILLIS. MAIN CONTRACTOR
T he 70m wide, three-span bridge connects the Lagan Towpath and Annadale Embankment in South Belfast. With extensive use of stainless steel and decorative elements, this bridge is an impressive marriage of civil engineering and aesthetic requirements. The significant achievement was recognised at the CEF Awards 2021, when Charles Brand won the Social/Community Project Over £1m Category for their efforts. However, the project posed a number of challenges for Charles Brand to overcome, as Paddy Harney, Project
Director, explained, “We have completed road schemes which have included footbridges throughout Ireland and GB, but the Lagan Gateway bridge was our first project where the aesthetics were as important as its functional capabilities. “The extensive use of stainless steel – including the decorative rings – posed technical challenges. It’s an expensive material and difficult to work with in combination with other materials. All welding was carried out in a controlled factory environment, to prevent contamination, with only the final assembly done on site prior to lifting into
place using a 450-tonne crane. “We had restricted access on the
Annadale side of the Lagan and a very busy residential area on the Stranmillis side so, to facilitate the abnormally long load, we constructed a new haul road on the Annadale side. We recycled the excess haul road material to help construct an additional public access providing Belfast City Council with an excellent alternative access for the next phase of the project.” As with so any projects carried out over the past two years, Covid-19 had a major impact, but it could have been far worse
“LaganGateway bridgewas our first project where the aesthetics were as important as its functional capabilities.”
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