Tees Business Tees Business issue 19 | Page 105

The voice of business in the Tees region | 105 / DARLINGTON NEWS Cleveland Bridge factory manager Richard Parker (left) and project manager Michael Whinn with one of Cleveland Bridge’s record-breaking 56-metre girders. Plans are in place to build a new road crossing over the River Tees. The Roman Bridge at Piercebridge is perhaps the most famous ancient crossing in the Tees Valley, but there was another at Middleton St George which was part of a road from York to Newcastle. #TalkingUpTeesside #TalkingUpTeesValley Tees Valley Commuter Challenge RECORD-BREAKING 56-METRE GIRDERS DEPART FOR EAST MIDLANDS C leveland Bridge UK has fabricated another record-breaking pair of steel girders. The 56-metre-long girders are destined for the East Midlands where they will form part of a new bridge spanning the A45 in Coventry. Previously, Cleveland Bridge’s record for its longest girders was 50 metres, set in 2017 for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project. Cleveland Bridge has been contracted to supply, fabricate and erect the bridge, which features a double-span ladder deck and a striking mast. The bridge components, including the 56-metre girders, have been fabricated at the company’s extensive production facility in Darlington, County Durham. The perfect ten Ten years of five-star excellence, fabulous events, glorious food, sublime spa, championship golf and exceptional service will be celebrated when Rockliffe Hall holds an anniversary black tie ball. Since opening in 2009, the hotel has won numerous accolades including Visit England’s Large Hotel of the Year, Good Spa Guide Best Spa for Luxury, North East Tourism Awards Hotel of the Year, Sunday Times Top 100 Restaurants and Top 100 Ultimate British Hotels, 59Club’s Golf Flag Award and Best Golf Resort in Europe. To mark the occasion, the North’s only five red star resort is holding what it promises will be a “glittering” black tie ball on November 23, from 7pm. Tickets are priced £115 per person or £95 for members. To book call 01325 729999. With a 27,000 square metre fabrication hall within its 22-acre site, Cleveland Bridge has the capacity to deliver large-scale steel structures of this kind, which are produced by its long-standing highly skilled workforce and overseen by a team of technical managers with extensive structural engineering experience. Following completion of the record- breaking girders, Cleveland Bridge engineers undertook a complex loadout programme. Once loaded on to the trailers, the girders were carried as part of a convoy of two vehicles, each measuring more than 60 metres in length, on their 180-mile journey to the bridge construction site. The bridge will subsequently be installed in March 2020. The Let’s Go Tees Valley Commuter Challenge invites people to swap their usual car journey to work for a more sustainable method, such as walking, cycling, car sharing or using the bus or train. The challenge runs for one week, with daily prizes to be won as an incentive, to encourage people to give it a go and hopefully continue to make greener choices in future. During the May Challenge, single occupancy car journeys reduced by 41.2% and 47 individual companies took part. The upcoming September Challenge will run from September 16-22. Why not sign up your company to take part? Sign up at: letsgoteesvalley.co.uk/teesbiz 48,000 TONNES OF SOIL MOVED FROM AMAZON SITE NEW CAFÉ ON POINT AT BUSINESS PARK Tees firm Scott Bros is repurposing an unwanted 48,000 tonnes of soil excavated during the construction of Darlington’s giant Amazon logistics and distribution hub. Rather than ending up in landfill, the Thornaby-based firm is recycling the sustainable resource by using it to infill an undulating area of land adjacent to the site The excavated soil is being carefully layered to provide a level area to improve drainage by eliminating water logging and to make the site visually more appealing. The onsite café at Lingfield Point Business Park in Darlington is ‘under new management’ – and the company is already looking to invest further in the town. Dominic Bowers (pictured, right, with Lingfield Point estate manager Eddie Humphries), who runs Totally Delicious which will operate café Loom, says he’s had such a good experience of setting up in Darlington he’s looking for another two outlets. The café is being reorganised to make it more efficient for people who have a short break and need to ‘grab and go’ as well as those who have a little longer and can sit inside.