Burnaby Road Rail Bridge shortlisted for ICE South East England Engineering Excellence Awards 2018

Congratulations to the Osborne Team as the Burnaby Road Rail Bridge have been shortlisted for the ICE South East England Engineering Excellence Awards 2018.

The Burnaby Road Rail Bridge is now also in the running to win the ICE SEE People’s Choice Award. This new award will be given to the project which has inspired and delivered a positive impact in London- chosen by the public.

The public will be able to vote for their favourite from 25 June until 6 July.

The Burnaby Road Rail Bridge in Portsmouth was replaced in just five days as part of a £2.7 million investment, which forms part of the national Railway Upgrade Plan. This was crucial to bring the crossing up to modern standards. The original aesthetic of the existing bridge was reflected in the new structure, with the bridge being painted in cream and ‘night blue’; the colours of the Portsmouth crest.

The bridge replacement project posed not only an engineering challenge, but an even bigger challenge to deliver in a busy urban area and to do so with minimal disruption to the local community and critical transport links. The work necessitated several impositions: closure of the railway, closure of the main road link to Gunwharf Quays, use of MOD land, closure of main access route to three University of Portsmouth departments and 24 hour-a-day working in a residential area.

Numerous steps were taken to minimise the impact of the work, including the use of off-line construction and ‘pick-and-carry’ transporters, close working with Portsmouth City Council over road closures, advance community meeting in local church, rail replacement bus service, letter drop to local residents, guided site tours for civil engineering students.

The bridge was successfully delivered on time with no complaints and praise from Network Rail:
“This crossing is a really important part of our network, with thousands of trains passing over it every year carrying millions of passengers, so I’m very pleased we have been able to put in a new bridge that will support those journeys for many more years to come.”
– Stuart Kistruck, Network Rail