In the week of our 10th Anniversary Lifespan delivered another new FRP bridge for an active travel project in the London Borough of Enfield.
The team have been collaboratively working on this project for almost 3 years & have faced many challenges during the project so it was a relief for all of the project team to finally see the new FRP bridge being installed by Kenson Highways.
The bridge is 14m long & 4m wide, manufactured & supplied in 2 sections that were connected together on site prior to a 1.4m high parapet being fixed to the sides of the bridge that is protected with a special fluoropolymer coating in a striking colour of RAL 9017.
Despite its size the FRP bridge deck only weighs just over 6,000kg & its central structural former core is manufactured from recycled plastic soft drinks bottles (rPET) – with over 50,000 such bottles being used for this bridge that would have normally ended up in landfill.
The bridge is located at Turkey Brook in Enfield & is part of a new walking and cycling route which aims to connect the neighbouring boroughs of Enfield and Broxbourne, from Enfield Town Station to Broxbourne. The project is predominantly funded by National Highways as part of the Designated Funds programme.
It is proposed that the Enfield Town to Broxbourne Walking and Cycling Route (within the borders of Enfield) runs from the southern side of the M25 junction with the A10 initially along the New River and eventually on the local highway network towards Enfield Town. Broxbourne Council are also working with Highways England on a related project that extends the route into Broxbourne.
The total length for the section within Enfield is approximately 4.7km. It features the construction of a shared use path running for 2.9km adjacent to the New River, and 1.8km of cycling route using local roads.
The Enfield section, consisting for the most part of an off-road path, will provide a quiet, safe, and secure route to encourage more active forms of travel. This in turn will bring the benefits of keeping children and adults healthy and fit, reduce motor traffic, and improve air quality. In addition, the proposals for the on-road section will upgrade junctions to accommodate people walking and cycling to provide safer crossings for everyone.