Bridges praised in steel design awards

Published: June 23, 2005

Bridges featured strongly among the winners of the 2005 Structural Steel Design Awards, presented today in London. Three of the five awards went to bridge projects: a crossing of the River Usk in Newport, a rail bridge in the Midlands and a small "rolling bridge" on a residential development.

The Usk Crossing was said by the judges to symbolise “the best in British engineering”, combining elegant design, high quality fabrication and innovative construction. The Midland Mainline Rail Bridge was described as an impressive achievement which pushed the planning, logistics, design and fabrication skills of the construction team to the limit. The judges found the machine-like structure of the Rolling Bridge at Paddington Basin (pictured) to be a joyful addition to the area, with the appearance of a Leonardo sketch when in the “rolled” position.

The winning teams were:

The River Usk Crossing, Newport Southern Distributor Road

Architect – Yee Associates

Structural Engineer – Faber Maunsell

Steelwork Contractor – Fairfield-Mabey

Main Contractor – Morgan Vinci

Client – Newport City Council

Midland Mainline Rail Bridge

Architect – Rail Link Engineering

Structural Engineer – Rail Link Engineering

Steelwork Contractor – Watson Steel Structures

Contractor – Kier Nuttall Joint Venture