Massive bridge takes to the road

A precision operation saw the bridge lowered on to a lorry in preparation for for its cross-border journey

A MAJOR operation to transport a 106ft-long bridge from Oldham to Wales was completed without a hitch this week.

The tricky manoeuvre to load the aluminium bridge on to a specialist flat trailer involved a team of men steadying it with ropes as it was lifted by a 55-tonne crane.

Once secured, the bridge was transported from MMP Fabrications, in West End Street, to Anglesey.

A team of workers, including project manager Mike Barry and director Alan Bland, travelled from Oldham to install the bridge alongside the A55, where it spans the estuary running between Anglesey and Holy Island.

It will carry an electricity cable for Scottish Power to a new business park which is being financed by the Welsh Assembly.

The bridge, which is four metres tall at its highest, also has a walkway for maintenance work.

Mr Bland said it was one of the longest bridges ever made by the company, which mainly provides pipework for the water treatment industry.

He said: “The job fell into our lap when it was offered to us by a design company.

“The design and inquiry stage took around eight weeks, and it took a team of six a further three weeks to complete the fabrication and welding.”

Mr Bland said there were some tricky moments during the installation due to high winds, but all went well in the eight-hour operation.

Two cranes were used to lift it from the lorry and over a 12ft wall running alongside the A55, and then lower it on to supporting concrete plinths.

It was then bolted in place where it will remain hidden from sight behind the wall.

The Holyhead bound carriageway of the A55 was closed all this week between junctions two and three to allow work to be carried out.