Spencer Engineering Group is playing a vital role in the creation of a huge new bridge in British Columbia
Hull engineering experts are crossing the pond to play a pivotal part in a £1bn-plus transport project in Canada. Spencer Bridge Engineering, based at One Humber Quays in Hull, has been involved in some of the most iconic bridge projects in the UK.
The business has carried out works including the complete refurbishment and rebuild of Union Chain Bridge, the world’s oldest suspension bridge still carrying traffic based in the Scottish Borders, as well as major renovation works on the Menai Suspension Bridge.
Now its world class reputation for the renovation, repair and maintenance of crossings has led to a team travelling to Canada to take part in a $1.4bn (£1.05bn) scheme in British Columbia. The company – part of the Spencer Group which was launched in 1989 by executive chairman Charlie Spencer – is delivering a unique access system which will allow inspections and testing to take place on a state-of the-art new bridge.
The bridge engineering specialist has reached a major milestone in the complex project by successfully completing testing of a bespoke Stay Cable Mounted Access System. The system will be used to inspect the stay cables on the new Pattullo Bridge, which will replace an existing crossing over Fraser River near Vancouver, linking the municipalities of Surrey and New Westminster.
The system was designed by Spencer Bridge Engineering’s experienced in-house design team. After undergoing rigorous testing in the UK, viewed by representatives of the Canadian client, Fraser Crossing Constructors General Partners (FCCGP) and a third-party checker, the access system has now begun its month-long journey to Canada by sea freight.
Opened in 1937, the existing Pattullo Bridge does not meet modern design standards. A new crossing is needed to maintain the vital transport link, and the Pattullo Bridge replacement will also provide major improvements for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
Working on behalf of FCCGP, Spencer Bridge Engineering is delivering the design, manufacture, testing and commissioning of the access system, which will help maintenance engineers to inspect all elements of the bridge’s stay cables.
Spencer Bridge Engineering project director Stephen Bunting said: “The project has been particularly challenging to find the right design solution and I’m extremely proud of our design and operations team and supply partners who have been pivotal in getting us this far.”
Senior design engineer Harry Towle added: “The concept for this access system is unique in several ways, meaning it has been a particularly complex project. The system has also been designed and built to European standards, but is operating under Canadian standards, which has meant that the design journey has had to satisfy dual compliance.”
The company has carried out maintenance, repair and restoration work on some of the UK’s best known bridges, including the Humber, Forth, Erskine and Severn bridges. Previous international projects delivered by the Spencer bridges team have included works on the vast Great Belt crossing network in Denmark and on the Alvsborg Bridge in Sweden.
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