Third-Party Bridge Inspection

An annual visual inspection of a disused bridge also requires a detailed inspection every five years to ensure no major issues develop. To enable the engineer to get up close to the underside of the bridge, a scaffold tower was built on a floating pontoon constructed in two linked sections. The ECSL Bridges and Structures team was selected as they are experts in maintaining existing assets and encouraging environmental conservation.

The inspection team thoroughly examined the bridge’s foundations, abutments, and steelwork, looking for signs of water infiltration, potential structural damage from vegetation such as ivy, and significant degradation of steelwork that could compromise the bridge. The engineer created a 3D representation of certain portions with a scanner to use as a reference in his report.

The coordination of all the factors required, including permission, access, and the use of a pontoon and scaffolding on a busy canal towpath, made this a challenging project. The project involved stakeholders, including the client and bridge owner, Network Rail’s Asset Protection team, and the River & Canal Trust, to obtain all required permits and permissions.

John Byrne, Head of Rail Operations, was in charge of managing the project and commented, “The decision was made to separate the tasks of bridge inspection and lineside vegetation management to ensure the bridge inspection was not delayed any longer. Towpath attendants were present to ensure that members of the public using the towpath were always safe.”