Published: 10/01/2025 12:15
Richter were commissioned by VolkerStevin to design the temporary works for the New Wear High-Level Footbridge in Sunderland. This bridge will connect the city’s south side to the Stadium of Light, supporting Sunderland City Council’s ongoing redevelopment plans. The temporary works required intricate design for several key structural elements, including crane platforms, piling grillage, and mooring points, each developed to safely manage the bridge’s assembly and installation.
A major component of the project involved designing a platform capable of supporting a heavy crane, which would lift bridge sections from a barge and place them onto bridge piers. Given the crane’s considerable weight, we needed to ensure the platform would adequately disperse the load, especially as there were no as-built drawings of the site’s existing retaining wall. We devised a multi-layered approach, placing timber mats on top of the working platform to further distribute the load, thereby reducing pressure on the retaining wall to an acceptable level.
In addition, our team designed a piling grillage to support temporary piles needed for the bridge towers. To avoid overloading the existing retaining wall, the grillage was made from high-strength S355 steel beams and a temporary system of 10No. 1200mm CFA deep piles was designed to disperse the load deep into the ground. This approach not only reduced the risk to the retaining wall but also ensured greater stability for the temporary towers.
The mooring points needed to withstand a load of up to 23 tonnes, despite limited space and concerns over the retaining wall’s stability. We developed cast-in, anchored solutions and included a propping system to direct load shearing forces into the jetty slab. This innovation effectively stabilised the bollard and protected the retaining wall during bridge installation.
The project presented several high-stakes challenges, each demanding proactive and strategic risk mitigation. The retaining wall’s unknown structural capacity was a recurring concern, prompting us to adopt designs that minimised impact on the wall. For both the crane platform and mooring bollards, we undertook load redistribution techniques to maximise site safety and operational efficiency.
For the piling grillage, we implemented smaller, localised piles that enabled deeper piling without compromising the retaining structure.
Our team applied innovative, adaptable solutions that enhanced safety, efficiency, and sustainability throughout the project. Using reusable timber mats on the crane platform reduced waste and allowed for future use in other projects, supporting our commitment to resource conservation. The piling grillage design avoided the need for a large piling mat, reducing material usage and ensuring localised impact. Additionally, our tailored solution for the mooring points ensured effective load distribution without the need for major structural modifications.
In addition to the above works, our involvement extended to carrying out several smaller temporary work designs, such as slope stability assessments, access roads, and rebar stability assessments. The groundwork for the project required a detailed analysis of the existing weathered Limestone on site, which resulted in the creation of complex design models.
We were also able to deliver a presentation to all stakeholders in the project on the impact of our involvement in the temporary works designs. The New Wear High-Level Footbridge project highlights Richter’s expertise in creating robust and sustainable engineering solutions under challenging conditions. Our collaboration with VolkerStevin demonstrates the value of a precise, risk-conscious approach to temporary works, delivering designs that ensure safety, structural integrity, and environmental responsibility as we continue with this ambitious infrastructure project.