Bath Quays Bridge
This is a new footbridge over the River Avon in Bath, opened for daytime use in December 2022, and to be formally opened in early 2023.
The sinuous form of the top and bottom chords, and the profusion of large welds, would have made this a very challenging project for the fabricators, Victor Buyck of Eeklo, Belgium. Website here.
The top and bottom chords are made from rectangular steel sections, machined with a chamfer on one side and a rebate on the opposite side, presumably to give a lighter appearance. The vertical ribs are made from thick plate, also with rebates machined at the corners (see photo 2). The cross beams are of welded T-section, and there are small T-section bars running longitudinally between the cross beams (photo 3). Intermediate support is provided by two legs (photo 4).
The bridge was fabricated in two large sections in the factory, to be welded together on site after setting them across the river. In order to transport them by road to site, it was necessary to split them down the middle, cutting through the middle of every cross beam. On site, the halves were set up and welded back together. In photo 4 the lighter coloured paint shows the area of the cross beam site welds. The connection between the two main beams was made by welding together the top and bottom chords (at a position above the towpath in photo 6).
The Architects and Engineers were Marc Mimram Architecture et Ingénierie. They also designed the beautiful Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor in Paris, which also featured large profiled welded sections to challenge the fabricators, and the Passerelle des Deux Rives, Strasbourg.