Project summary

Working collaboratively with Liverpool City Council (LCC) in our role as principal contractor, the A565 Great Howard Street Bridge project has significantly improved traffic flow along a crucial Liverpool city centre arterial route. Completed in ten months, this important road network upgrade centred on the replacement of a ‘weak’ bridge that accommodates the transport of traffic over a disused railway line to north Liverpool docks. The four-lane carriageway carries approximately 25,000 vehicles each day.

Through the implementation of “innovative construction techniques” and alternative traffic management proposals, we ensured that motorists and businesses endured less disruption than originally estimated (road closure duration reduced by four weeks), allowing them to effectively plan their activities around this major works programme.

The detail

Awarded through Highways England’s Collaborative Delivery Framework (Lot 2 – but with LCC as the client), this technically challenging scheme involved the demolition of the existing bridge and tunnel over a disused railway and the subsequent construction of a new replacement concrete deck bridge.

The £6.5m project, which commenced in July 2016, also incorporated the strengthening of a 170m long brick retaining wall by installing ground anchors and pattress plates. The 38m long precast beams utilised on the project were installed by single crane lifts while the high containment parapet wall was cast off-site in 20tn precast units and supported on temporary false work supports from ground level, allowing the deck slab to be poured in one continuous pour.

The Behavioural Maturity Framework (BMF), a Highways England (HE) management tool to track the behavioural experiences of stakeholders, such as LCC (client) and Amey (designer), was piloted on this scheme – a first for a non-HE project.