Heritage bridge works specialist Spencer Bridge Engineering has won an industry award for work to install a temporary walkway on a historic Scottish bridge.
The company, part of Spencer Group, received the 2024 Galvanizing in Engineering Award from the Galvanisers Association for showing what galvanized steel can offer to the built environment. The project involved more than 1,000 pieces of metal, each hot-dip galvanised to blend eight the existing structure.
The structure, over 120 years old, spans Loch Etive linking the villages of Connel and North Connel, near Oban in Scotland.
The company was contracted by BEAR Scotland, a service provider to the Scottish roads maintenance sector, on behalf of Transport Scotland, to develop a new walkway to allow pedestrian access throughout planned works to replace the entire bridge deck over the coming years.
The project involved the design, construction and installation of a 240-metre-long walkway along the full length of the bridge.
Principal Engineer Chris Kirkby, who attended the award presentation, said:
“The whole team are delighted to have been recognised with this award and it gives us great pride to have worked on this project.
“A key element of the project was ensuring that the works were completely non-invasive to ensure no damage was caused to the original structure.
“Having both design and construction teams in house enables us to work collaboratively to design the most practical and effective solutions to complex projects, which is demonstrated by the success of our work on Connel Bridge.”
