Carpenter’s Land Bridge, a pedestrian and cycle bridge that links the £1.1 billion East Bank culture and education district on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to International Quarter London, crossing both Network Rail and Docklands Light Railway lines in the process, has won its builder the highest accolade at the Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT) Awards 2020.
John Graham Construction’s civil engineering teams designed and installed the 66-metre-long steel bridge, formed of a portal frame and bearings, a concrete cill beam and bearings within an existing retaining wall structure. It was designed using Business Information Modelling (BIM) software, consisting of both object-oriented 3D geometrical and non-graphical data, which was updated throughout the course of the project.
As a result, the contractor was first presented with the Fosroc Engineering Award before being named as the Overall Winner of the CIHT Awards 2020 – an annual global competition that celebrates innovative work and the benefits that the highways and transportation sector brings to society.
Judges at the CIHT Awards praised the scheme, stating they were particularly impressed with Graham’s creative approach to design and implementation. They stated: “The innovative solution, using offsite fabrication and novel construction techniques, provided a potential model for others to follow,” adding that there “were significant benefits in delivering during a constrained time window with large social values for the community and business”.
Leo Martin, Graham’s managing director of civil engineering, said: “It is a great honour to receive not just one, but two prestigious CIHT Awards for our work at the Carpenter’s Land Bridge. I would like to thank our project team for the dedication and commitment that was essential to completing the scheme on schedule and to budget.
“The team went the extra mile on this project, taking advantage of the rail network shutdown to minimise disruption, and installing the bridge during overnight works on Christmas Eve, working into Christmas Day morning to ensure our programme was met.”
He added: “Collaboration, as always, was also key to the delivery of this scheme and I’d like to thank our clients at the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), our partners COWI designers and Briton Fabricators, MACE – the LLDC’s project management partner and principal contractor for the East Bank development – and all the stakeholders involved in the work for making this a success.
“The CIHT Awards are a highlight of the industry’s calendar and to be recognised at them is a fantastic achievement.”
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