
05 Jun Northern Spire Bridge Project
The Northern Spire Bridge is the first bridge to be built in Sunderland in over forty years. It consists of a three-span cable-stayed structure and reaches 105 meters in height, making it taller than Big Ben’s clock tower. The Northern Spire Bridge has recently been honoured with a prestigious special award by the Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE) which recognises engineering excellence.
The New Wear Crossing is a vital part of the regeneration of the North East. It comprises of two lanes of traffic in both directions, with a cycle way and footpath. The Northern Spire Bridge will improve transport links between the A19, City Centre and the Port of Sunderland. It will also reduce congestion, improving motorist journey times.
KME Steelworks was pleased to have played a part in this prestigious project. We designed and manufactured moulds used to produce several precast elements of the bridge. These included Support Column Moulds ranging in size from ø750mm x 5000mm to ø2300mm x 7000mm, 4000mm x 3600mm Parapet Moulds and 3500mm x 2400mm Bridge Deck Panels.
We were also involved in the production of the main bridge support structure. We designed and manufactured two sets of Formwork for the main support “tusks”. The Formwork was supplied in sections for ease of installation on site and when fully assembled it measured 5m x 5m x 8m tall. The formwork was challenging to produce as the “tusk” had both flat and curved sides which sloped at different angles yet required a 20mm tolerance over the 8m height. When in place the “tusks” formed the main base support for the 105m high A-frame pylon centre piece.