The Happy Pontist
@TheHappyPontist
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A blog, about bridges.
Joined September 2011
Remember me? Rare chance for a bridge visit today ...
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Chisholm Trail Bridge, Cambridge. When is a truss bridge not a truss bridge? https://t.co/lcBbLy9TC5
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It's Friday, time for the weekly #BridgeQuiz. This photo was taken before strengthening works were carried out in the 1980s and the bridge looks much better today. Which bridge is it?
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In 2021, all #GreatMusgraveBridge needed was repointing (at worst), but @NationalHways spent £124K infilling it over five weeks. Now, the process to remove the 1,600 tonnes of stone and concrete could go on for a year, bring local disruption and cost us £450K. Just so depressing.
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LBC documents here, including emails seeking agreement to amend the existing handrails:
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This obsession with historic structures having to meet "current safety standards" is absurd. Was anyone working on this project a Conservation Accredited Engineer? If not, why not?
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Yes, a Historic Railway Estate job, with consultant Jacobs. In the Listed Building application they claim that "The historic handrail design/ configuration requires modern interventions to meet with current safety standards." No, it didn't.
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I visited this one in 2010 https://t.co/XX2d3ruQEj Comparing the photos, it's more a look-alike replacement than a renovation: the parapets have been altered so that the reconstructed original parts seem to now be cosmetic. Who could be responsible? Can @theHREgroup guess?
Bridges | Extensive renovation work by @AmcoGiffen_ enables rare Victorian footbridge to be reinstalled on Scottish viaduct Full story: https://t.co/xCCqNqmwVR
#heritage #scottishborders #riverteviot
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Well done to @theHREgroup and everyone who campaigned against this. And yet the HRE defended their decision-making to the very last. Will this be a turning point for the industry much more widely? Let's hope so.
Planning Committee @EdenCouncil votes UNANIMOUSLY to REJECT @NationalHways planning application to retain the infill #GreatMusgraveBridge.
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The ongoing posts about Great Musgrave Bridge from @theHREgroup are well worth following. Setting aside the specifics, there are so many threads for engineers to learn how to do better. This comment goes to the heart of it, and it's not just about this one bridge.
The big concern here is how a bridge that *everyone* could see was fine and showing no signs of distress could be portrayed by @NationalHways as a threat to public safety and might collapse. That suggests questionable competence or a deliberate attempt to mislead @EdenCouncil.
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The BHA technical report on Gt Musgrave Bridge is shared here: https://t.co/cCSZeEJOTf, along with expert advice from two other engineers (bound into the HRE Grp objection). Well worth reading for anyone who is following this sorry saga: or how we manage old bridges generally.
This is BIG! Evidence and expert insight finds that prior to @NationalHways infilling it, #GreatMusgraveBridge was in Fair condition, had a capacity of >44t, required no work (not even repointing) and presented no threat to public safety. #RemoveTheInfill
https://t.co/Q7CcGEIcEw
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This is BIG! Evidence and expert insight finds that prior to @NationalHways infilling it, #GreatMusgraveBridge was in Fair condition, had a capacity of >44t, required no work (not even repointing) and presented no threat to public safety. #RemoveTheInfill
https://t.co/Q7CcGEIcEw
newcivilengineer.com
With just four weeks to go until Eden District Council rules on the planning application, Vere has been urged to intervene by the HRE Group – a campaign
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PS: If you read the book: which structures were you most surprised to see included? Which were you most surprised to see missing? Post in the discussion at my blog post!
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Breaking News from 1852: Wendel Bollman patented a self-reacting stayed suspension bridge (latter misnamed a 'truss'). Only a couple of these were ever built, but the design is elegant, redundant, and efficient. Diagram is from Merrill's Iron Truss Bridges for Railroads 1870
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