Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd

Conwy Tube Bridge – Underbridge No. 110 (CNH3)

Bridge Management Strategy Commission

Conwy Railway Bridge was built by Robert Stephenson in 1848 and carries the railway across the River Conwy. The superstructure is formed from two wrought iron tubular box girders through which trains pass, with masonry castellated abutments that compliment Conwy castle.

Birse Rail were commissioned to produce a 'Bridge Management Document' to plan the controlled maintenance of Conwy Bridge over the next 100 years with the aim of facilitating the longevity of the historic and iconic bridge.

Due to the bridge's Grade I listing as a national monument within a site of specialist scientific interest, careful consideration of all proposed maintenance techniques was required to preserve the bridge itself and its surroundings. Management and interpretation of 150 years of archive information was also a critical task undertaken at desk top study stage.

Key project requirements included:

• Assessing the structure's current condition and structural capacity status;
• Establishing stakeholder liabilities;
• Risk categorisation of element, and;
• Risk assessment from unplanned events.

Birse Rail Consultancy supported the Client in developing the project scope to ensure that the plan's content met the specific needs of the railway, those of the structure and those of the structure's other stakeholder groups.

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