Redcliffe Bascule Bridge

The Historic Bascule Bridge in  Bristol was built in 1942 to link Queen’s Square to the city centre.  The bridge is comprised of two fixed spans and a lifting ‘bascule’ span which allows larger boats to enter Welsh Back, a wharf alongside the floating harbour.

The last major refurbishment occured in 1996 which included replacing the original timber deck with a new steel deck and replacing the electrical control system. Those repairs were more than 25 years old and were coming to an end of their lifespan and therefore in need to be upgraded to modern standards.

The work involved essential structural, mechanical and electrical repairs to allow the bridge to open properly which in turn would let larger boats through.  The repairs would also protect the structural integrity of the bridge, therin limiting the requirement for future repairs.

For certain elements of the repair work it was a requirement to “hold” the bridge in its “open” position. IDH were engaged to design a back propping scheme to the rear of the bridge and also a propping scheme to restrain the chocks from moving. Interrogating historic drawings we were able to produce a robust, efficient design that was installed on site first time.