CU Jan-Feb 2020
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CASE study<br />
Mix and match<br />
When faced with a hybrid mix of precast, cast-in-place and reinforcement concrete, a tight delivery<br />
schedule, a marine environment and complex construction methodologies, Kilnbridge Construction<br />
Services turned to Trimble's Tekla Structures for assistance on the Water Street Bridge project<br />
Arecent addition to London's Canary<br />
Wharf estate, the new Water Street<br />
Bridge was designed by Knight<br />
Architects with COWI and Eadon<br />
Consulting, to provide a road and<br />
pedestrian link between Montgomery<br />
Square and the new Wood Wharf<br />
development. A single-leaf bascule bridge,<br />
with an upward swing to allow boats to<br />
pass underneath, it spans over 25m across<br />
the Bellmouth Passage, between the pivot<br />
point within the East Abutment chamber<br />
and the elastomeric nose-bearing at the<br />
West Abutment.<br />
Kilnbridge, a multidiscipline construction<br />
and engineering business, was awarded<br />
the £5million project by Canary Wharf<br />
Contractors, with the task of designing,<br />
fabricating and installing the three primary<br />
concrete structures required for the bridge's<br />
construction - the East Abutment, West<br />
Abutment and Marine Causeway.<br />
Both the East and West Abutment were to<br />
be formed of reinforced concrete, with the<br />
surrounding marine environment requiring<br />
careful detailing and consideration of the<br />
adjacent structures. The West Abutment<br />
consisted of a number of vertical structures,<br />
notably two feature concrete columns that<br />
support the bridge's elastomeric bearings<br />
and approach deck; all of which were<br />
supported on bearing piles through the<br />
existing promenade. In comparison, the<br />
East Abutment is a semi-submerged<br />
concrete structure, founded on 1200mm<br />
diameter bored marine piles with<br />
permanent steel casings sealed into the<br />
Lambeth Beds below.<br />
Designed to withstand impact from a<br />
small ship, the main function of the East<br />
Abutment is to support the bridge's pivot<br />
bearing and lifting cylinder, as well as<br />
house the other mechanical components<br />
and plant room area.<br />
Kilnbridge was also tasked with<br />
designing, fabricating and constructing<br />
the Marine Causeway, which ran<br />
alongside the existing marine deck of the<br />
new Wood Wharf development.<br />
Consisting of bored marine piles that<br />
support transverse precast beams,<br />
precast planks then span between the<br />
beams, providing permanent formwork for<br />
the in-situ concrete deck above.<br />
It was a complex project, which<br />
combined precast, cast-in-place and<br />
finished concrete, as well as various<br />
temporary works. The limited three-month<br />
pre-construction lead-in period also<br />
required the accelerated design and<br />
detailing of all precast elements. Kilnbridge<br />
therefore turned to Trimble's Tekla<br />
Structures for assistance.<br />
Alastair Courtney, Senior Engineer at<br />
Kilnbridge said: "We have been using Tekla<br />
software for concrete reinforcement<br />
detailing for around three years now, with<br />
the company also having utilised it on steel<br />
fabrication works for approximately eight<br />
years prior to this. The benefits this<br />
software can bring to both small- and<br />
large-scale projects are huge and indeed<br />
widely evident across the whole<br />
construction process.<br />
"On the Water Street Bridge site, given the<br />
18<br />
<strong>Jan</strong>uary/<strong>Feb</strong>ruary <strong>2020</strong>
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