The Pilgrims Way site is located in Otford, on the outskirts of Sevenoaks. Following the completion of several housing developments in the area the footfall over the pedestrian crossing across the railway had significantly increased. CML’s services were procured to design and construct a footbridge to replace the foot crossing and acted as both Principal Designer and Principal Contractor for the project.
The client’s objective was to remove the safety risk which the existing foot crossing presented with its increased usage and at the same time reduce the maintenance liability that the crossing incurred. The works had to be completed by April 2024 driven by their annualised budget provision.
| The site was very constrained in terms of access with limited space between the operational railway and the Network Rail boundary. This limitation drove the methodology which in turn influenced the foundation design. The plant chosen had to negotiate a narrow access to get on to site which was facilitated by close liaison with the lineside neighbours.
Site investigation was undertaken to inform the design and specialist contractors from our supply chain were employed to do the piling. The initial proposal was to use a screw pile construction, but the ground investigation found voiding in the substrata. Deep ground penetration was then carried out to establish a better understanding of the soil mechanics and this resulted in 16m deep SFA piles being designed. The choice of SFA piles was also driven by the need to optimise daytime working with the railway kept open to traffic. The piles and the associated pile cap forming the foundation for the footbridge were subsequently installed utilising midweek daytime working. |
The reinforced concrete foundations were completed on schedule and had sufficient time to cure ahead of the main weekend track possession when the new bridge was lifted into place.
Regular meetings and updates were provided to the client team with programme compliance high on their list of priorities.
The challenging access situation dictated that the lineside neighbours were primary stakeholders, and it was only with their cooperation that the project progressed as programmed. Nighttime working was limited to just the bridge lifts to reduce the impact and disturbance from noise.
Other parties consulted included, Kent County Council (Rights of Way), Sevenoaks Borough Council, Otford Parish Council, and Southeastern Railways.
A 27-hour Register Possession was booked for week 52 to the prescribed planning timeframe with the CML Access Planning team working closely with their Network Rail colleagues.
Following fabrication off site utilising our experienced supply chain, the new bridge was delivered to site in a phased manner driven by erection sequence.
The erection followed a detailed Lift Plan using a 160T road mobile crane positioned on a crane pad located in the Up Cess. The installation comprised of 5 main lifts (2 x lifts per staircase and the main span lift).
The new footbridge was taken into commission immediately following the possession and the existing pedestrian crossing remained in service pending the formal closure process being enacted.
The risk and mitigation measures were captured in a Risk & Mitigation Plan which was submitted and approved in advance of the planned installation works.
The risks identified covered the following areas: –
Keep up to date with our latest news, projects and industry developments
© 2024 Construction Marine Ltd. All rights reserved.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.