FP McCann Precast Portal Frame Bridge Installed on Dumfries and Galloway Housing Development
Project: Bridge access to new housing development, Moffat, Dumfries & Galloway
Client/Installer: Hartfell Homes
Consultant Engineer: Asher Associates
Products Supplied: Precast Concrete Portal Frames/Bespoke Headwalls
FP McCann has recently supplied its largest precast concrete portal frame structure to Dumfries and Galloway house builder Hartfell Homes. The housing developer has installed the portal frame along with FP McCann bespoke headwall units over Birnock Water in Moffat to allow main bridged access onto the new Moffat Auldton site which will consist of exclusive detached bungalows.
In conjunction with partnering consultant engineers Asher Associates, the Hartfell Homes team contacted FP McCann early in the design stage to explore the options for utilising an off-site built precast concrete system as opposed to spanning the watercourse with a bridge constructed insitu. FP McCann’s team of engineers at Weston Underwood, Derbyshire, provided the design option along with structural calculations, the eventual design then being approved by the Dumfries and Galloway Council Bridges Team.
The main bridge frame structure consists of eight portal frame units each measuring internally 7.0 metres wide, 2.85 metres high and 1.5 metres long. The external side walls have a bitumen latex emulsion applied to act as a waterproof membrane. Completing the portal frame bridge are inlet and outlet bespoke reinforced precast concrete headwalls to act as an embankment retaining system. Each headwall has been specifically designed to suit the topography surrounding the bridge.
The units were delivered from FP McCann’s Byley factory in Cheshire on a just-in-time basis and the Hartfell Homes team off-loaded and installed the portal frame bridge and headwalls assisted by Lawsons of Cockermouth Cranes in just two and a half days.
Utilising portal frame units to construct the bridge has ensured an uninterrupted flow to the watercourse beneath thereby minimising any environmental impact.
Commenting on the bridge install, Brian Walker, Managing Director of Hartfell Homes says, “The precast concrete portal frame sections and bespoke culvert headwalls have provided the ideal engineering solution to construct this watercourse crossing. The off-site quality assured manufactured precast concrete products together with their long-life, low maintenance benefits, gives us peace of mind that we have put in place a very robust bridge structure. The units were simply and quickly installed, demonstrating the flexibility that precast concrete portal frame sections can offer in such civil engineering projects.”
For further information on FP McCann’s bespoke solutions, contact the team at Weston Underwood 01335 361269 | sales@fpmccann.co.uk
