Steward Wood Bridge, Wray Valley

The project comprised of Phase 2 of the Wray Valley Trail linking Moretonhampstead and Bovey Tracey which involved the design and construction of a Vierendeel style truss cycle/footbridge, embankment and shared cycleway/footpaths. Our scope of works consisted of:

• Site clearance and stock proof fencing
• Earthworks to create a 580m long shared cycle way and footpath
• Construction of a reinforced earth embankment
• Construction of reinforced concrete bank seats and bearing pads and masonry pilasters
• Surfacing and landscaping works

The Trail is a multi-use path to be enjoyed by pedestrians, cyclists and equestrians. The route follows the old railway line where it can, with detours only when unavoidable. The work is jointly managed by the Moor That Meets the Eye project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Devon County Council.

The new bridge sits on the site of a former rail bridge crossing. The original rail bridge was dismantled in the 1900s due to larger lorries using the road, and one abutment also had to be destroyed to widen the road and make the corner safe. However, the new bridge reuses the other existing support.

A key challenge was to ensure the bridge and embankment designs were completed in a timely manner to meet the programme requirements and the pre-booked road closure. We engaged with our designers, Inertia Consulting Ltd early at tender stage so that when the scheme was awarded, a significant part of the design process had already been completed to enable formal submissions to be made promptly.

The 25m bridge was designed in two halves to allow it to be delivered by lorry. It was designed, along with its sister bridge to the North, to reflect the railway heritage and also be sympathetic to horses by having a solid lower half to reduce the chance of them being startled.

Surplus excavated material was reused on site to construct the edge protection bunds and in the main embankment with only two loads of unsuitable material being removed from site.

The main earthworks embankment required reinforcement to enable steeper slopes due to the proximity of an existing private sewer and an adjacent water main.

An existing pilaster on the scheme had to be reconstructed so we carried out a photographic survey and marked all of the stones prior to removal to enable it to be rebuilt identically. The north abutment was constructed behind an existing structure and the stonework was locally sourced to match.