The Pooley Bridge replacement project has been overseen by Cumbria County Council and main contractor Eric Wright Civil Engineering, while the lift was undertaken by Sarens on 7 May 2020.
The three-layer stainless steel and concrete composite structure is a first for the UK and was designed by GHD and developed by Knight Architects. WEC Group built the steelwork.
The bridge comprises four sections that were fabricated offsite before being assembled near to the final position. Once steel assembly was complete, a concrete arch was cast onto the structure, and the lift of the entire 285t bridge was undertaken using a crane with a 1,200t capacity and a 580t counterbalance.
The new bridge is a replacement for the original Pooley Bridge, built in 1764, which was washed away by floodwaters in 2015. Since March 2016, the area has been served by a temporary modular steel bridge supplied by Mabey Hire.
