Work on the Chelmsford East Beaulieu S278 (RDR Phase 3) project is now under way with an anticipated completion date in spring 2023.
The £16.8m project will connect the A130 Essex Regiment Way and the Beaulieu and Channels housing developments on the west side of the Great Eastern Main Line (GEML) railway to the A12 Boreham interchange on the east side of the line.
The new roads will facilitate future phases of housing development for clients Countryside and L&Q.
The works comprise construction of a three-span bridge over the railway and A12 slip-road, as well as approach embankments on either side linking into the new radial distributor road (RDR) and the existing Boreham interchange.
Graham had already delivered the pre-construction phase of the contract under a Stage 1 contract.
The new Beaulieu rail bridge will be a 161-metre-long three-span structure of composite weathering steel fabricated plate girders on in-situ reinforced concrete column abutments and piers, with reinforced concrete pile-caps and bored cast in place reinforced concrete piles. The girders will be a constant depth over their full length.
The superstructure will be constructed on site, off-line, on adjacent land and then wheeled into place with self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT). Graham has used this method before – notably on the Carpenter’s Land Bridge in 2020, a footbridge linking London’s East Bank to its International Quarter, next the Olympic Park.
Graham managing director Leo Martin said: “The use of SPMTs to install the complete bridge rather than the traditional usage of a crane is an example of our innovative approach to civil engineering infrastructure projects and this methodology will help us install the new superstructure in the safest and most efficient manner.”
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