Pioneering FRP road over rail
bridge deck

March 2008
 

Birse Rail, on behalf of Network Rail, has completed construction of the UKs first vehicle carrying FRP (fibre reinforced plastic) bridge deck to span over a railway, replacing the existing over-line bridge at Standen Hey, near Clitheroe, Lancashire.

The completed bridge deck, that weighs only 20 tonnes, spans 10 metres between the original abutments, which were modified with precast concrete cill beams in order to accommodate the new deck.

Network Rails Territory Civil Engineer Tony Wilcock explains, “This £600,000 project to replace the bridge at Standen Hey is just one of six trial sites using FRP that Network Rail is carrying out around the country. FRP has several benefits over conventional materials, such as the fact that it is infinitely more manoeuvrable than steel or concrete because it is so much lighter, and maintenance costs are considerably reduced because it does not need painting. However it is early days in the trials and we need to understand just how FRP is going to perform in its various applications.”


Tony Gee and Partners was responsible for the design of the bridge deck which comprises up to three layers of ASSET panel deck units. The panels themselves were manufactured in Denmark and made from E-glass fibres in the form of bi-axial mats within a UV resistant resin matrix. Once completed, the panels were then transported to a factory near the site where they were bonded together in a climate controlled environment.

When it was fully assembled, the bridge deck was transported along the tracks in the early hours of the morning, on a specially designed support system. It was then lifted into its final location on elastomeric pad bearings, using a mobile crane.

The finishing touches, including erection of the parapets and placing the polymer concrete surfacing were then completed.
 
 

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