Deconstruction of the River Thames Whitchurch Bridge

The NFDC has a great write up of how the Whitchurch Bridge spanning the River Thames was deconstructed by C&D customer Matthews (Sussex) Ltd.

Here's an excerpt:

"Birse Civils (Balfour Beatty) awarded the contract to Matthews (Sussex) Ltd. after a lengthy tender process; the deconstruction methodology proposed by us and previous experience of our staff with bridge deconstruction works contributed to our success. The works had to be carefully planned due to the unstable nature of the structure. A ‘Mabey’ support system needed to be installed at each of the three trestle’s to support the lattice girders prior to works commencing. River traffic management had to be implemented as it was a requirement that river traffic still have right of way during the works. The asphalt and concrete deck needed to be removed sequentially ensuring the load was evenly removed to prevent a ‘seesaw’ effect and subsequent collapse of the structure."

You can read the full article complete with images over at the NFDC website.