Construction View Issue 39 2021 | Page 66

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The bridge is now Category A listed and situated in the Edinburgh World Heritage Site . The last major refurbishment works were undertaken in 1933 . Later in the early 1990 ’ s painting was undertaken to decorative facings and new parapets were installed with decorative covers of spheroidal cast iron .
In March 2018 , the City of Edinburgh Council agreed to invest £ 22m in refurbishing Edinburgh ’ s North Bridge . The project was allocated £ 12m in the Capital Investment Programme 2018-23 . A further £ 10m was allocated as part of the Council ’ s 2018 / 19 budget .
Inspections to North Bridge carried out in 2014 identified many defects . These resulted in the removal of loose material and installation of netting to make the underside of the bridge safe . Assessments have confirmed that there has been no impact on the bridge ’ s load carrying capacity and Balfour Beatty were appointed to carry out the refurbishment works .
The works to North Bridge include :
• repairing , grit blasting and repainting structural steelwork
• repairing , grit blasting and repainting cast iron façades
• repairing the underside of the bridge ’ s concrete deck
• repairing and improving to the footway paving and underdrainage
• repairing the waterproofing membrane and carriageway
• improving the structural drainage systems
• replacing the steel secondary structures over the abutments and piers with reinforced concrete slabs
• removing all redundant utility pipes and ducts and rationalising those services that remain
• replacing expansion joints
• restoring and repairing the King ’ s Own Scottish Borderers War Memorial located on the east plinth of the bridge ’ s south pier
• installing permanent platforms to improve access provisions for future inspection and minor maintenance
• all temporary scaffolding required to access the structure . restoring and maintaining the historic and vital link for current and future generations and installing permanent platforms within the bridge structure to improve access provisions for future maintenance .
Community benefits are an essential part of the project delivery , with one of the main elements being education via engagement with , for example , schools and universities . There are also opportunities being provided by the contractor for placements and career support in the development of young people . These include with sub contactors such as Taziker , who are undertaking all of the painting work on the project .
At Taziker their great strength is using innovation to solve problems . Theye challenge themselves continuously to improve and set the standards within the industry . Though they work with new and old structures alike , Taziker always set theirr sights firmly on the future , using innovative techniques to deliver projects that have long-term benefits and stand the test of time . That ’ s why their clients always look to them to make their projects 100 % safe and reliable .
The works are now expected to be completed in late 2022 . This is partly due to measures being taken because of the Covid-19 pandemic and as a result of gaining full access to the entire structure . The project team have been able to open up and inspect sections of the bridge not seen since construction over a 100 years ago . This access has revealed significantly more deterioration on all 3 spans of the bridge , leading to more extensive repairs than first anticipated .
The benefits of undertaking this refurbishment include www . constructionviewonline . co . uk