Last updated at 12:31, Monday, 08 February 2010

Rugby firm Morgan Est has been awarded the contract to build a new temporary road bridge in Workington.

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It will start work almost immediately, with its temporary offices arriving on site and ground excavations for the bridge's foundations starting within days.

The temporary bridge - which will be about 200 metres east of the former Northside Bridge - will allow drivers to cross the River Derwent in Workington for the first time since the November floods destroyed or damaged the town's road and foot bridges.

Morgan Est has been contracted to build the two-lane, 350-tonne bridge ready for an expected opening to traffic, pedestrians and cyclists by May 28.

Today's announcement means the 67-metre long, 12-metre wide Janson bridge can now be shipped from Holland and parts of the UK to be assembled on the site.

The first phase of work is to dig the foundations for the bridge and drive down the steel abutment piles which will house the concrete foundations. An estimated 500 tonnes of concrete will be needed for the project, with a further 900 tonnes of tarmac needed for the bridge surface and approach roads.

Around 35 workers will be on the site building the bridge and approach roads seven days a week, with plans to work 24 hours a day at key points in the project so that it can be constructed in the shortest possible time.

Local people will be kept fully informed about the work programme so that disruption can be kept to a minimum and people are aware of the various key stages of the project.

Different elements to the project will be running side by side to shorten the work programme, so the bridge and its foundations will be built at the same time as the approach roads. The bridge itself will be assembled on the site and then pushed over the river until it slots into the pre-prepared foundations on the other side.

The duration of the project has already been shortened by the county council working with consultants Capita Symonds to design the bridge and commission vital borehole and investigative ground excavation work before the contract was signed.

Transport minister Sadiq Khan MP, who announced the contract winner on a visit to Workington, said it was great news for the town.

"The construction of this bridge will be a vital step in reuniting the town and will make life easier for local residents and businesses alike. I am also delighted to be able to announce that the Government will be giving Cumbria £4.6 million to cover the material and construction costs of this bridge.

"The Government is committed to helping the people of Cumbria recover from the devastation caused by last year's flooding and has already funded the Barker Crossing as well as providing additional rail services to provide vital links across the river at Workington. We have also supported Cumbria County Council in prioritising their recovery programme by paying for the cost of supplementary short-term project management resources. We will continue to work with the council to identify what further funding is required to restore the area's critical infrastructure."

Coun Jim Buchanan, Leader of Cumbria County Council, said: "We have been working on this project since the floods first hit - planning the best place to put the bridge, drawing up potential designs, surveying the geography of the area, working up traffic management plans and going through the tendering and procurement process. So today is a key day in that we have a contractor confirmed to do the work.

"In the meantime, we have also been working on plans for two permanent replacement road bridges in Workington, which we're aiming to deliver within the next two years, as well as our plans to repair or replace the other damaged bridges in Allerdale and South Lakeland. The temporary Workington bridge is a vital part of the jigsaw we're building to restore the transport infrastructure in west Cumbria."

Jag Paddam, Morgan Est's managing director for infrastructure services, said the bridge would make a huge difference to the community and help to alleviate the lengthy delays currently experienced by motorists.

"We also have two local operatives from Workington who are part of the experienced, enthusiastic and committed team which has been assembled to carry out the work. We will work closely with Cumbria County Council to ensure the community is kept informed of the works and that the bridge is completed on time."

Morgan Est provides specialist tunnelling, utilities, civil engineering and mechanical and electrical services to the water, transport and energy sectors. It has worked on the Kincardine Bridge in Scotland, Heathrow Terminal Five and delivered major highway schemes.

First published at 08:48, Monday, 08 February 2010
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk