Refurbishing the Wireworks bridge.

August 2022 - Specialist construction company, VolkerLaser, was contracted by Gloucestershire County Council to undertake strengthening and refurbishment works to the Wireworks Bridge at Tintern.

On Monday 1 August, the team set up the site compound in the Wireworks car park, off Forge Road, and closed the bridge to the public on Tuesday 9 August.

Excavation works began on the west abutment on 11 August.

Works to come include the erecting of scaffolding within the dig area, which will span out over the abutment walls, allowing access to the outer face of the abutment structure for core drilling works.

January 2023 - Scaffolding to the bridge was completed on 4 November , allowing the structure to be fully encapsulate by 28 November. The encapsulation is required to protect the surrounding environment during the grit-blasting process, preventing any contaminated grit from entering the River Wye below.

Visually, the bridge structure appeared to be in poor condition, however, during the blasting operation it was found that the majority of the structural steel was in remarkably good condition, although some repairs were required.

Following blasting works, the steelwork was treated with a heavy coat of grey primer to prevent any further corrosion and deterioration of the existing steelwork. Painting was carried out in a heated environment to ensure that the surface of the steel was free from condensation and to provide a suitable temperature for curing the primer coat.

External repairs to the existing western abutment stonework commenced on 5 December following approval from Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire County Council conservationists approval and continued into early 2023.

Works to reduce the height of the existing stone pier and abutments to set a new steel deck structure started, with the structural steel being provided by an outside supplier.

Feburary 2023 - In early February, temporary works were installed in preparation to support the new bridge steelwork. Temporary cross-beams with a roller and guide arrangement were set up, spanning between the bottom flanges of the existing bridge beams, which had previously been grit blasted, repaired and painted during January. The beams, rollers and guides are referred to as a ‘launching system’ and allow the beams to be pushed across the span of the existing bridge and into position. The team used a 40t crane to lift the new steelwork onto the launching system.

The first load of five beams for the centre ‘spine’ of the bridge was delivered to site on 13 February. Each steelwork beam was lifted off the delivery vehicle and placed on the launching system ready for moving into position at the eastern end of the bridge.

The site team pushed each of the five beam sections into position by hand and the first centre string was installed in approximately four hours. The beam string was then checked for alignment and jacked up to the correct level, ready for welding.

Following the installation of the first string, the outer strings were delivered and installed on 20 and 27 February respectively and were fully welded together to create the new deck structure.

Works to remove the encapsulation sheeting began, in order to allow the scaffolding to be dismantled.

The remaining masonry repair and repointing works are continuing.

April 2023 - The new steelwork structure spanning the River Wye has been installed, and painted and is now seated on the original bridge abutments and piers. The new steelwork now rests on 12 flexible bearing pads, three on each of the existing abutments and piers. These bearings prevent the transmission of excessive vibrations into the stonework below and allows the structure to move during seasonal expansion and contraction of the structure.

In order to complete the painting works, the encapsulation and scaffolding were removed to allow contact points to be coated. Unfortunately persistent heavy rain during March hammered the painting process leading to delays in completion of the works, During the removal of the encapsulation and scaffolding, it was found that the existing bridge girders had suffered from excessive movement, meaning additional works were required to ensure that the girders were securely fixed to the supporting abutments and piers. 24 anchor bolts were drilled and fixed into the existing structure to ensure stability in the yeas to come.

Repairs and repointing works to the existing stonework continued. Working in conjunction with Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire County Council conservationists, the existing mortar was chemical analysed to allow an accurate match to be made. Although the new mortar contrasts quite noticeably at the moment, time and weathering will gradually reduce the contrast.

At each end of the bridge, a concrete wall need to be cast to provide a defined edge to the resurface to and support expansion joints allowing the bridge to expand and contract during seasonal heating and cooling. Formwork or shutters have been manufactured to maintain the shape of the walls during the pouring and curing of the concrete. The team are also working to remove an existing tree stump the west end of the bridge to allow full width resurfacing to be carried out.

A new timber deck will be laid over the bridge in the coming weeks. The deck panels have been prefabricated ready for placement.

May 2023 - A new concrete wall has been cast at the east end of the bridge which encapsulates and preserves the historically significant World War II anti-tank bollard foundations.

In early May works to plane out and remove the old tarmac approach road on the west side of the bridge was carried out. Resurfacing works are now progressing. Works to replace the approach path to the east are ongoing with the existing path excavated and filled with stone to provide a solid base of the tarmac.

The new hardwood deck panels were installed. The new deck has anti-slip properties for pedestrian safety and contrasts well with the repainted bridge.

Final repars to the stonework and the remaining painting works are continuing. Completion s set for Friday 26 May 2023.

24 May 2023 - Gloucestershire Highways Infrastructure and Improvement team gave WVG volunteers a preview of the completed works and we were impressed, not only by its rejuvenated appearance and new deck, but also by the innovation required to overcome significant engineering challenges in order to preserve the bridge and avoid overloading the grade II structure during the works. This included encapsulation of the bridge to capture all debris from grit blasting (to avoid polluting the Wye) and installation of new structural steels (3 per span) via rollers. The new ekki hardwood bridge deck has been secured with over 7000 screws and sits upon the new steels. This ensures the original parapets no longer bear any of the bridge deck load. Previously the old deck timbers simply sat on a mortar bed inside the lower I-section beams, with no other support! During clearance of the bridge approaches, foundations for 2nd world war tank traps and anchors for barbed wire fencing were found at the eastern end of the bridge. These feature have been preserved, but the foundations present a trip hazard, so be warned! We've asked the council to consider compiling an information board to capture information concerning the bridge renovation.

The bridge was restored  at a cost of £1.5 m and reopened on June 2023 by Derek the Walking Weatherman. Derek is a celebrated  presenter of walking  programmes on BBC Wales.

Acknowledgement: Photographs and updates supplied by the contractor, VolkerLaser www.VolkerLaser.co.uk