Cleveland Bridge UK Ltd has been praised for its technical expertise and ability to deliver complex structural projects to challenging constraints and timelines after it was presented with a highly-prestigious industry award for the construction of the Newport Bridge.
The North East-based company won the Project of the Year (subcontract between £2m-£4m) in the CN Specialist Awards, which were presented at a special ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.
Part of a significant overhead line electrification (OLE) programme, the 228-tonne, 50m skewed, weathering-grade steel road bridge crosses the Great Western Main Line in South Wales.
Required to accommodate the increased height required for new OLE systems, the geometrically-challenging structure was fabricated at Cleveland Bridge’s Darlington facility, and following a complete trial assembly, the steelwork was loaded onto trailers and transported to Newport, where it was assembled prior to installation in a trackside temporary works compound.
Judges highlighted the Newport Bridge as ‘an exemplar project, which couldn’t have been solved without getting the Cleveland Bridge team on board early’.
The project had significant time constraints for the removal of the old bridge and installation of the new structure, which was delivered through close and early collaboration between Cleveland Bridge, its customer ABC Electrification and Network Rail.
Cleveland Bridge was also highly-commended in two other categories at the awards ceremony, including Project of the Year by a Specialist Contractor (subcontract over £6m) for its work on London Bridge Station, which was a contract for Costain on behalf of Network Rail to supply steelwork for rail decks and concourse bridge decks.
One of the company’s apprentices, 21-year-old Liam Simpson, was also shortlisted in the Apprentice of the Year category.
Chris Droogan, Managing Director, Cleveland Bridge UK said: “This award is a fitting testimony to our capabilities, and endorses our strategy to promote and deliver early and close collaboration with project partners to guarantee effective and efficient delivery.
“It also recognises the expertise and talent of our highly experienced workforce who can be very proud of the part they have played in the production and successful installation of this complex project leading to receiving this prestigious award.”