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Medieval city walls, bridges, and harbours stood at the interface between the worlds of man and nature. Wind, ice, rainwater, scour, tidal flows, littoral drift, erosion, silting, micro-organisms, and the growth of vegetation compromised the integrity of structural fabrics and choked up ditches, rivers, and harbour basins. These 'slow disasters' of incremental degradation were periodically punctuated by 'fast disasters' such as devastating floods or violent gales. To keep their public works from falling into ruin, civic authorities had to devise regular maintenance regimes and tackle intermittent large-scale repairs. Infrastructure sustainability became a particularly acute problem during the late middle ages. Climate change accelerated the intensity and frequency of environmental stressors, while urban populations declined in the wake of the Black Death. Economic disruptions were driving up the costs of building materials and labour while the customary sources of infrastructure incomes were shrinking. The growing mismatch in scale between rising infrastructure costs and falling resources was not just another wobble that could be corrected by a renewed mobilisation of traditional recovery mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the point of view of bridge structures, the moving load is one of the most important components of the load. The analysis of the influence of moving load on bridges is carried out numerically or experimentally and can be traced in the literature since the year 1849. The first impulse was the collapse of the Chester Rail Bridge in England in the year 1847. The present paper analyses the effect of the moving load on a two-span bridge, both numerical and experimental way. The planar model of the vehicle and the bridge is adopted. The bridge is modeled as Bernoulli-Euler beam. The heavy vehicle is modeled as a discrete computational model with 8 degrees of freedom. Two approaches are used in numerical modeling. For the first time, the task is solved by the finite element method in the environment of the program system ADINA. The Newmark's method is used for the solution of equations of motion. The classic approach is used for the second time. A discrete computational model of a bridge with two degrees of freedom is used. Equations of motion are solved numerically in the environment of program system MATLAB by the Runge-Kutta 4th order method. The influence of vehicle speed on vertical deflections in the middle of individual bridge fields is analyzed in the speed range from 0 to 130 km/h with a step of 5 km/h. The detailed comparison of both numerical approaches is made at a vehicle speed of 70 km/h. The deflections of the bridge and the deflection of the vehicle are compared with each other. The correctness of the assumptions used in the numerical solutions was verified by measurement on a model beam in the laboratory. The results of the experimental tests were compared with the results of the numerical solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The December 2015 storms resulted in unprecedented damage to bridges in Northern England, UK. In Cumbria, the inspection of lower-priority structures was then delayed by continuing high water levels and the need to prioritise scarce diving resources to the repair works. Thus, full inspections were not completed until after the end of the summer river access period, leaving over 180 bridges that could not be repaired because rising river levels prevented safe access. This paper describes the risk-based strategy adopted to manage the monitoring and urgent repair of damaged bridges during the winter of 2016/2017. The strategy combined the engineering assessment of bridge condition and catchment-based river-level informatics to provide duty engineers with timely warning of river flows deemed likely to cause further risk, thus enabling them to call out inspection and maintenance engineers to assess the risks on-site and, where necessary, assure public safety by initiating bridge closures. The lessons learnt from the implementation of this strategy on this 10% sample of Cumbria's bridge stock will be used to inform the selection of measures for resilience against the effects of climate change and to develop county-wide emergency preparedness processes for all the highways network structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The upgrade and improvement of existing railway lines across the UK has been and still is a priority of the existing administration, as they carry 50% more passengers than they did 10 years ago. In Scotland, the latest figures estimate a total investment of around £1 billion of enhancements within Control Period 5, which includes the Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme (Egip). This paper focuses on the design and construction of a number of interfaces within Egip, from platform extensions to bridge reconstructions and changes to existing tunnels, with the goal of having the main line between Edinburgh and Glasgow electrified and with train capacity significantly enhanced. In order to minimise any negative impact that the proposed electrification could have on biodiversity, as well as from a suitability point of view, an attempt was made in the design, whenever possible, to accommodate and reuse existing structures as opposed to rendering the existing infrastructure completely obsolete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tarr Steps is a footbridge across a river but it also bridges two temporal landscapes: the present and the ‘deep past’. Although the origins of the site are uncertain, the bridge is often represented as objectively authentic and ‘ancient’. The historicity of this claim is challenged by secondary production of the site. We unpack the discursive construction of the bridge and argue that Tarr Steps’ connection to the deep past is a cultural imaginary based on a selective interpretation of its morphology. This imaginary connection authenticates representation of the site as resembling the origin of a sequence of cultural evolution in Britain. We explore implications of this in relation to three metaphors of landscape used in the cultural heritage management tool called Historic Landscape Characterisation. In so doing, we raise questions about the future of the past, specifically in terms of the conceptualisation of temporality, authenticity and the politics of representation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study was carried out to identify the social impact of losing transport links within a community, and the practices of coordination and communication during and after an extreme adverse event. In November 2009, Workington, Cumbria had most of its bridges either damaged or destroyed during a major flood. The effects of the disaster were immediate, while the subsequent planning and recovery process took time. Over 3 years, Cumbria County Council (CCC) went through a coordinated process of installing temporary infrastructure, building and repairing Workington's bridges. A desk-based investigation of the disaster and the recovery process using websites and the local press demonstrates a coordinated approach to replace Workington's infrastructure and the importance of communication in the town's recovery. CCC, through a series of practical measures, reduced disruption within the community in stages. The reconstruction of the town's bridges involved communication and public consultation about the new infrastructure. The CCC explained the design, financial and engineering elements of the bridges to the public with some success. The research found that the loss of each bridge had significant social impacts, and the coordinated actions and communication of CCC helped the community understand and, importantly, accept that reconstruction would not be immediate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sunderland Bridge, when built, was the longest iron arch in the world. Discussions about building it with stone had been held in the 1780s but the idea of an iron structure took hold in 1791 and as such it was finally opened in 1796. Severe deterioration soon occurred and only drastic action in 1805 saved it from collapse. Thereafter it survived until 1853 when it was largely rebuilt although the main ribs remained in situ. Total replacement took place in the 1920s, the present bridge being opened in 1929. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Railway locomotives increased in weight from less than 10 tons in 1825 to more than 100 tons by the 1930s. Originally loading on bridges was assumed as an average weight per unit length ignoring axle concentration and generous factors of safety were used to compensate for the absence of any dynamic allowance. After the Dee Bridge collapse of 1847 Board of Trade rules were imposed. The comparatively few bridge failures under train loading are summarised. After several failures of flawed cast-iron girders these were gradually replaced after 1891. There was no rigorous consideration of dynamic effects until the 1900s. Civil engineers had been rejecting heavier new locomotives without comparing hammer blow characteristics. Dynamic effects were eventually investigated for the Bridge Stress Committee Report of 1928. With the elimination of steam traction, loading as developed for Europe was introduced and is now adopted in the Eurocodes. Comparisons are made between early and modern loadings taking account of the effect of increasing speeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the design and construction of the A34 Wolvercote highway viaduct replacement scheme in the UK. The existing twin viaduct carrying the A34 over the A40, the Oxford Canal and the Network Rail Oxford to Rugby lines was replaced with a single new viaduct essentially on the same lines as the existing viaduct. Two-way traffic was maintained on the A34 by constructing the new viaduct in two halves partly offline, sliding one 250 m long 5000 t half over to meet the other during an overnight closure of the A34 and A40 trunk roads and a weekend closure of the railway, and stitching the two together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The £500 million East London railway works contract in the UK includes the design and construction of a series of underline bridge structures, carrying the upgraded and extended railway between the refurbished Kingsland viaduct at its northern end and the former Great Eastern railway. One of these is Shoreditch High Street Bridge, a bowstring arch bridge forming a landmark where a new section of the railway crosses Shoreditch High Street just north-east of the City of London. It is an unusual form of railway bridge, chosen primarily for its appearance, having solid round bar hangers and no bracing between arch ribs above deck level. The East London railway Balfour Beatty-Carillion joint venture directed the design and constructed the bridge, while the bridge design was undertaken by URS. This paper describes the design and construction of Shoreditch High Street Bridge, highlighting some of the more unusual features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction of phase 1 of the new London Overground East London line was completed in 2010. Two enabling works contracts preceded the main contract for the construction of the railway. This paper gives the historical background of the old railway structures in east London that have been brought back into use for the new railway, and describes the many different forms of refurbishment or replacement that had to be undertaken to bring the old infrastructure up to modern standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Docklands Light Railway in London, UK has been in service for some 25 years and has now been upgraded for the second time to enable it to use longer trains at higher frequencies. The structures had to be assessed and, when necessary, strengthened. The assessment would normally have been done using a similar approach to that which would be used for a new design. However, this showed up a significant need for strengthening purely for fatigue. It was therefore decided to strain gauge some structures and the results showed significantly smaller ranges than predicted. Rather than use the results directly, they were used to develop a more realistic assessment approach. This was partly because of the need to apply results for a limited number of structures subjected to two-car trains, to a larger number of structures subjected to three-car trains. Comparison with the strain gauge readings suggested the adopted approach was still very conservative but major savings were still made compared with the strengthening that would have been required by the conventional approach. Two of the structures had more specific and localised problems. Here it was possible to strain gauge all the critical elements and more direct use of the results was possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Aim: It is the aim of this paper to consider the factors associated with the need for re-intervention on a conventional or resin-retained bridge, excluding recementation. Methods: A data set was established consisting of patients, 18 years or older, whose birthdays were included within a set of randomly selected dates, one of which was chosen in each possible year of birth and whose restoration records contained the placement of one or more indirect restorations on courses of treatment with last date on the claim form after 31st December 1990, and with date of acceptance after September 1990 and before January 2002. For each patient treated with a bridge, the subsequent history of intervention on each tooth used as a bridge abutment was consulted, and the next date of intervention, if any could be found in the extended data set, was obtained. Thus a data set was created of bridge abutments which have been placed, with their dates of placement and their dates, if any, of re-intervention. Results: Data for over 80,000 different adult patients were analysed, of whom 46% were male and 54% female. A total of 7874 abutments (6800 conventional and 1074 resin-retained) were obtained from the data over a period of eleven years. Factors which were found to reduce outcome of bridges included type of bridge, patient payment exemption status, patient attendance pattern and position of the bridge in the patient''s mouth. Conclusions: Survival of conventional bridge abutments has been shown to be 72% at 10 years, this being similar survival time to crowns. Various patient factors and bridge type were also found to influence survival. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Photographs of several tides under Bideford Bridge in England are presented.

The article presents a case study on the design and implementation issues of Diglis swing timer bridges in Worcester, England. It notes the use of various metallic elements such as kingposts, rod stays and turning handles on the bridges' replacements, and cites the significance in identifying the sustainable sources of oak timber prior to construction. Moreover, it mentions the structures' success for acquiring the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) West Midlands Sustainability Award in 2006.

The Severn Bridge, completed in 1966, was the first suspension bridge to adopt a streamlined box girder deck that reduced the dead weight and improved aerodynamic performance. The 988 m span bridge crosses the estuary of the River Severn and is an important asset within the UK highway network. In 2006, the UK's Highways Agency, through the concessionaire Severn River Crossing plc, commissioned a programme of internal intrusive examination of the main suspension cables of the Severn Bridge with Faber-Maunsell/Weidlinger acting as consultants for the inspection. The information obtained during these investigations provided the basic data for use in a formal strength assessment of the suspension cables undertaken by Mott MacDonald, the UK government's representative for the Severn Crossings concession. Analytical techniques developed over the past 3 years have enabled the adoption of limit state principles for the assessment in line with UK practice. In addition, deterioration modelling has been developed to improve understanding of the current condition of the cables and to assist in the future management of the bridge. In parallel with the strength assessment, process maintenance management strategies have been developed and implemented that have enabled the continued safe operation of the bridge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Todwick Road Bridge in Rotherham, UK, is a single-span, road-over-rail bridge replacing the understrength existing steel and masonry arch bridge built in 1905. The new bridge forms a strategic link between the ongoing development of the former Dinnington Colliery site and the motorway network. Traffic on the bridge began to increase noticeably in late 2004, when reclamation of land at the Dinnington Colliery site was substantially complete and development of light industrial units began. It soon became apparent that this increase, while still below the expected capacity, was causing problems. It highlighted the need for a replacement scheme as early as possible. Minimising disruption to local businesses and the general public was a significant factor in the design process, which aimed to keep the duration of the road closure to the absolute minimum. For the 21·2 m effective span a 36° skew with semi-integral bankseat on a reinforced earth abutment was adopted. This choice led to some restriction in the design. The Highways Agency design guide BD 70/03 limits the design of an integral bridge on reinforced earth abutments to an 18 m span. BA 42/96 limits the design of a semi-integral bridge to a maximum of 30° skew. This paper describes the design, innovative detailing and the construction of the bridge to overcome these limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The removal of the houses from London Bridge in the mid-eighteenth century was a highly symbolic moment in the capital's progress towards modernity. This article examines the causes behind this transformation of one of London's most iconic structures, and demonstrates that it was a series of crises in the finances of the Corporation of London that eventually drove the City of London to administer the last rites to its 'living bridge'. In pursuing such an argument, this article demonstrates that the state of London's local government finances could be an influential factor in determining the characteristics of the capital's built environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar geometry is used to accurately date the four paintings of Waterloo Bridge and one painting of Charing Cross Bridge, from Monet's London Series, that have the sun clearly visible within the image. Monet reworked the ‘enveloppe’ within these images on subsequent days when the sun was in a similar position but did not change the position of the sun. Letters to Monet's wife and contemporary weather data verify the probable dates. This confirms that Monet painted what he saw and that we can cautiously use his London Series as a pictorial ‘weather diary’ of typical Victorian London fogs. Monet painted these images from the Savoy Hotel during stays in 1900 and/or 1901 and the fifth floor balcony he used has now been located for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the design and construction processes involved in the stabilisation of Weetwood Bridge, Wooler, Northumberland. The bridge is a scheduled ancient monument and is located in a setting of high landscape value, especially when seen from the adjacent B6348 road with a back-drop of the Cheviot Hills. The bridge had severe structural problems apparent in the cracking of the arch barrel and tilting of the approach walls. The parameters that affected the design and construction of the stabilisation works are presented together with the issues encountered when working on an ancient monument in a site of special scientific interest with roosting bats present. The expertise of the in-house design team and specialist bridge workers delivered an innovative solution that resulted in the structure being repaired, conserved and subsequently removed from the 'at risk' register of English Heritage. The external appearance of the bridge remained unaltered but importantly the scheme took account of the principles of historic conservation in disturbing as little as possible of the historic fabric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On its opening day, the London Millennium Bridge (LMB) experienced unexpected large amplitude lateral vibrations due to crowd loading. This form of pedestrian-structure interaction has since been identified on several other bridges of various structural forms. The mechanism has generally been attributed to 'pedestrian synchronous lateral excitation' or 'pedestrian lock-in'. However, some of the more recent site measurements have shown a lack of evidence of pedestrian synchronization, at least at the onset of the behaviour. This paper considers a simple model of human balance from the biomechanics field--the inverted pendulum model--for which the most effective means of lateral stabilization is by the control of the position, rather than the timing, of foot placement. The same balance strategy as for normal walking on a stationary surface is applied to walking on a laterally oscillating bridge. As a result, without altering their pacing frequency, averaged over a large number of cycles, the pedestrian effectively acts as a negative (or positive) damper to the bridge motion, which may be at a different frequency. This is in agreement with the empirical model developed by Arup from the measurements on the LMB, leading to divergent amplitude vibrations above a critical number of pedestrians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the relevance and influenced of Alfred Pugsley's work to the practice of structural mechanics and structural engineering. Pugsley was appointed as chair of civil engineering at the University of Bristol in England and chaired a committee for the Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA). The authors concluded that he made contributions to the fundamentals of engineering analysis because he offers new ideas for the improvement of the field.

When it opened to pedestrian traffic in the year 2000, London’s Millennium Bridge exhibited an unwanted, large side-to-side oscillation, which was apparently due to a resonance between the stepping frequency of walkers and one of the bridge modes. Models for this event, and similar events on other bridges, have been proposed. The model most directly addressing the synchronization mechanism of individual walkers and the resulting global response of the bridge-pedestrian system is the one developed by Eckhardt et al. [Phys. Rev. E 75, 021110 (2007)]. This model treats individual walkers with a phase oscillator description and is inherently high dimensional with system dimensionality (N+2), where N is the number of walkers. In the present work we use a method proposed by Ott and Antonsen [Chaos 18, 037113 (2008)] to reduce the model of Eckhardt et al. to a low dimensional dynamical system, and we employ this reduced description to study the global dynamics of the bridge/pedestrian interaction. More generally, this treatment serves as an interesting example of the possibility of low dimensional macroscopic behavior in large systems of coupled oscillators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ship impact is a major consideration in the design of bridges. Forces calculated using the various methods in use can be very large and vary considerably. This paper describes the method used in the design of the Hungerford footbridges over the River Thames in central London, UK, and compares the results with other methods. Eurocode I is shown to produce large variations, depending on which method is used. The design and construction of the ship impact protection for Hungerford Bridge is also described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The East London railway line extension is one of the most intensive railway reconstruction projects undertaken in the UK. An existing operational railway with Victorian infrastructure has been taken out of service so that it can be extended and upgraded to provide a high-quality metro-style passenger service across London. The project encompasses integrating modern bridges into Victorian railway infrastructure, building new bridges and viaducts in the centre of London and minimising disruption while putting new bridges across the mainlines into two of London's railway termini. The paper describes the bridge structures and how they are being built. Two particular design issues with regard to the maintenance of railway bridges are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detailed vibration measurements were taken on the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, England to define its basic dynamic characteristics in normal conditions and then to assess its dynamic response to crowd loading; 27 vibration modes were identified with natural frequencies below 3 Hz. When subject to crowd loading, quite large lateral vibrations occurred in two modes, with sudden onset. This phenomenon, often termed 'synchronous lateral excitation' or 'pedestrian lock-in', is similar to the behaviour observed on the London Millennium Bridge and a number of other bridges. Data analysis showed the behaviour to be consistent with the pedestrian negative damping model proposed by Arup in developing a solution for the Millennium Bridge. This model does not, however, explain the underlying mechanism causing the excitation, and a number of observations of the behaviour of the Clifton Suspension Bridge suggest that significant synchronisation of pedestrians did not actually occur. Although synchronisation may occur for large-amplitude vibrations on some bridges, the observations challenge the commonly held view that this mechanism is responsible for the initial rapid onset of lateral vibrations due to crowd loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current paper describes the use of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites as primary structural members. In particular FRP composite bridge decks are discussed and the Asset project, which comprised the development of a FRP composite bridge deck system, is described in detail. The analysis, design and testing undertaken within the project are also discussed in detail. The culmination of the project, the reconstruction of West Mill Bridge in Oxfordshire, is described and conclusions made on the particular advantages of using FRP composites for bridge decks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bridge D141 carries the District line of London Underground over the River Lea and Bow Creek in the east of London in the Greater London area. The District line is one of the three west-to-east lines of the London Underground, the others being the Central line and the Jubilee line. As such, it is of major economic importance. The bridge was built in 1888, and is of relatively light construction compared with modern bridges. The track form was of short longitudinal timbers, and corrosion had reduced the live load capacity. The light form, coupled with the short timbers, gave constant track and ride problems. As the bridge spanned two waterways, maintenance was difficult, and major works became necessary to avoid restrictions. The site being 'landlocked' hampered refurbishment works, and closure was not an option, as to do so would have caused unacceptable economic effects. This paper covers the history of the bridge, the problems that developed in the bridge, the solutions to the problems—both structural and in the track form—the refurbishment and strengthening of the bridge, and the problems encountered in the work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highfield Lane Bridge in Rotherham, UK is a three-span, road-over-rail bridge that has a number of unusual design features and is also built on poor ground. Durability, buildability, low maintenance and whole-life cost-effectiveness were the main aims of the conceptual design. The use of an integral design was considered to be of paramount importance in meeting these aims to eliminate the bridge engineer's nightmare of movement joints between spans and at end supports. Due to the presence of a shallow worked coal seam and soft made ground, a conventional monolithic integral design or bank pad abutment could not be used. The solution adopted utilised a unique 'floating' base form of integral bankseat. In addition, a conventional integral approach slab was incorporated with an innovative pressure relief hinge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The £100 million A249 Iwade bypass to Queenborough improvement scheme includes a new road bridge over the Swale and the construction of road links on either side, improving transport links between the Isle of Sheppey and mainland Kent. The Highways Agency awarded a 30-year design, build, finance and operate contract to Sheppey Route Limited in February 2004. Sheppey Route Limited's contractor, Carillion, has designed and constructed the 5$6 km long A249 Iwade bypass to Queenborough improvement. The bridge and road project were completed during summer 2006. The existing A249 crosses the Swale via a vertical lifting bridge and there are long delays to traffic when it is raised to allow shipping through. The new Swale Crossing is a vital part of the scheme and will provide major benefits by reducing congestion and improving journey times on the route because it is high enough for ships to pass underneath. This paper describes the design, fabrication, erection and construction of the new Swale High-level Crossing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Manchester to Oldham line of the proposed Metrolink Phase 3 passes through the new Central Park business park utilising the existing track bed of a disused and dismantled heavy rail route. To the east of Thorp Road Bridge the new Metrolink route crosses the existing four tracks of the Manchester to Leeds Trans-Pennine railway. A post-tensioned concrete finback bridge has been provided to carry the new twin Metrolink tracks over the existing heavy rail route. In order to minimise disruption to the operational railway, the Finback Bridge was constructed in a position alongside and roughly parallel to the existing railway. Once the construction was substantially complete, the 6250 t bridge was rotated in plan through 218 to its final position during a weekend possession. The site constraints resulted in a reverse curved horizontal alignment with the consequential requirement to cater for significant torsion in the design of the deck. The deck solution was a box section finback bridge with varying fin height and fin wall thickness. The bottom slab of the box was extended to cantilever outside the central fin to support the Metrolink tracks. The superstructure incorporates two types of post-tensioning; internal bonded tendons in the deck slab of the main span and external unbonded tendons located inside the fin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the structural problems regarding the repair and refurbishment of the Elevated Harrow Road which was constructed in 1960s in London, England. It examines the approaches taken to investigate the causes of the defects and the steps taken to develop an effective repair strategy. As part of the evaluation, the necessary structural assessments that were carried out with the regular six-yearly principal inspections to ensure the maintenance needs were identified and examined.