Engineers use world-first solution to overcome challenges with Sunderland's new River Wear footbridge

Engineers have come up with a unique solution to enable Sunderland's new River Wear footbridge.

The new bridge is seen as a key part of efforts to drive the city forward, connecting the city centre, via the 'Riverside Sunderland' regeneration of the former Vaux site, to the Sheepfolds, where redevelopment work is under way to create an impressive new village of businesses in a historic stable block.

But the nature of the site proved a challenge for civil engineers working on the bridge, and required the team to come up with a world-first solution.

Building a bridge requires long poles - known as piles - being hammered into the soft soils beneath the bridge until they reach a hard layer of compacted soil or rock. The earth is then replaced with reinforced concrete.

However, due to the location of the bridge’s north pier beside the River Wear, and river working restrictions, the team could not use a the traditional piling rig needed to complete this process.

Civil engineering specialist VolkerStevin and its sister company VolkerGround Engineering have therefore designed and delivered a solution hailed as being the first of its kind.

The new system used a cantilevered piling frame and support guides to allow the necessary work to take place.

The same frame was used for piling operations on both the north and south piers. The team assembled, adjusted and tested the frame on-site.

Mark Denham, project director, said: “At VolkerStevin we’re no strangers to overcoming complex challenges and the innovative cantilevered piling frame was a crucial part required for the success of this project.

"The development of this solution was made possible through a collaborative approach involving our in-house temporary works team and piling specialists, key supply chain partners and our client.

 "The absence of similar existing solutions prompted extensive research across different sectors. We rigorously evaluated potential solutions based on health and safety, environmental impact, and buildability, leading to the development of this preferred solution from concept to detailed design.”

Councillor Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “We’re delighted to be moving forward with works on the new Wear footbridge.

“The innovative work VolkerStevin has done so far is fantastic and will be pivotal to helping us execute our Riverside Sunderland masterplan. The change the footbridge will make to the city will be incredible, becoming a true centrepiece of the city.”

Once complete, the new footbridge will be 10m wide, 30m high and over 250m long, comprising reinforced concrete piers, steel box girder superstructure and a precast concrete deck.

Other features include steel parapets, lighting, street furniture and various architectural features.

It will improve 'connectivity' for both pedestrians and cyclists between the city centre and the Sheepfolds area.