Balfour Beatty plc’s Post

“ Watford 2 Croxley Rail Link “ Tech Property Transport Infrastructure ( “ TPTi”) update” Thanks to Harry for sharing this : for those interested in Wc2L the Atkins Realis Feasibility Report should according to local Lib Dem Councillor Steve Drury be available on / around 5/12/2023 which coincides nicely with the date of the next Croxley Local Area Forum meeting. At the last CLAF meeting deputy Leader Stephen Giles- Medhurst confirmed that the viaduct aspect of W2CL would not proceed but of course that was before the abandonment of Hs2 north ( much to the chagrin of Mayors Burnham & Rotherham in Manchester and Liverpool) and before Ruthless Rishi’s announcement of his Network North transport plan by which the monies allocated to Hs2 north would be reallocated nationwide. When I last heard from the WC2L engineers at Herts County Council they indicated that nothing had been ruled in or out at this stage so it’s possible that the previous Metropolitan Line Xtension proposals could re- emerge. If the project was to cost £350 million 6 years ago it’s probably at least £500 million now to include a viaduct to allow the Met Line to connect to Watford Junction over 2 Bridges thus facilitating freight trains and passenger services West : East and East : West as seems to be the trend with East West Rail and Crossrail/ Queen Elizabeth line which of course connects to the HS2 super hub at Old Oak Common about 10 miles from Two Bridges in Croxley. With £55 million approx having been spent on the previous incarnation of W2CL before it was pulled by Mayor Khan ; the flack he received from everyone because of ULEZ and his investment in his pet Superloop bus service around the M25 ( junction 18 is about 3 miles from W2CL) it will be interesting to see whether a viaduct will materialise in West Watford / East Croxley.After all HS2 🚅 built its viaducts in Maple Cross / Colne Valley just over the Bucks/Herts border as well as those in Brum that Tim Fawcett refers to … so we know they are technically feasible. W2CL = a national project with very real implications if green lit 🔥 in its entirety for residents in West Watford and South West Herts - both of which have Tory MP’s of course. I’ll share the feasibility report as soon as I see it. Thanks Harry from English Regional Transport Association for sharing.

I missed your presentation but my career has been defined by resilient (durable) concrete! I have 30+ year old pavement, slab, and rail infrastructure (direct fixation) using zero slump unreinforced concrete placed to achieve 100% density. Only 150# cement per CY balance high carbon fly ash with strength over 7,000 psi and durability 7-10 higher than conventional concrete yet there seems to be little interest in the material that will replace asphalt (becomes extinct as US opens new refineries to refine U.S. domestic light crude from shale which produces no waste for asphalt). With over 90% of pavement in U.S. presently asphalt and extinction with 5-10 years paving industry will need a different material! Also same mixing and placing equipment can use 100% RAP, water based emulsifier, cement, and water to produce/place cold regeneration pavement which uses cement as binder therefore it won’t rut or pothole like asphalt.

My wife called me to ask if I was okay, emotionally, after seeing the video herself. Her mentioning that watching the video struck a personal cord reminded me that our career ventures do not only effect ourselves. Reflecting back to my bridge construction days, I have been feeling a very strong mix of emotions and thoughts towards this horrific accident. How could this happen? What could have been implemented to prevent this? Is there any chance for the workers involved to have survived? The workers... hard working professionals that arrived to work for the last time that shift. Could it have been another day of monotony for a weathered crew? Perhaps a new task for some? What about an opportunity for learning, listening, or instructing for various team members? Maybe a first day for someone? An instance of "one more shift before my child's birthday", "I can not wait for my anniversary dinner with my spouse today", or "just one more shift after a long push to get job done." And then in an instant... all of those possibilities vanish. No matter the circumstances, six people... six individuals with lives of their own - Families... Friends... Relationships... have been presumably cut short while doing a very assumingly menial task of filling potholes on a bridge during low traffic hours. Fellow professionals, no matter how busy you may be, no matter how wrapped up in your task, your project, your job as whole, that you may become, never forget that in many industries, danger is present always. Unfortunately in some cases, no amount of engineering controls can prevent tragedy. Never let those you care about fall to the wayside, as you never know when today might be your last. May our fellow workers rest in peace, and may their families and those who knew them grieve completely, to allow healing. Stay safe my friends. https://lnkd.in/gJ46WVYn

This accident as improbable as its can highlight some deficiency in standards and codes to account for accidental loads caused by ship collision. If such load case is disregarded to cut project costs, what are the alternatives to implement and how reliable are they?

When two structural elements are designed to move relative to one another, an expansion joint is usually required to seal the gap between the two elements while also accommodating their relative movements. Expansion joints in bridges are usually provided to allow for thermal expansion and contraction of the bridge deck, and to also allow for movement due to traffic actions on the bridge. The gap between the deck end and the abutment wall is frequently the case for bridges.On long viaducts or continuous bridges, however, additional joints may be required between deck portions to limit the movement at any one place. Expansion joints are a point of weakness within a bridge due to its function, and there have been several occurrences of joints leakage, which can cause problems to the bridge. For example, corrosion of the bridge reinforcement has commonly occurred when de-icing salt-laden water has seeped onto bearing shelves or pier supports For an expansion joint to function well, it must possess a number of qualities. Some of them are listed below: + It must withstand loads and movements without causing failure to itself or other sections of the structure. +It should be watertight +It should provide a smooth ride, and pose no danger to road users such as cyclists, pedestrians, or equestrians +The joint's skid resistance should equal that of nearby surfacing +Noise emissions from the expansion joint should be kept to a minimum, especially if it's going to be used in residential areas. +The joint should be easy to inspect and maintain #civilengineering #construction #expansionjoints

For concrete precast segments of superstructure of railway or road bridge constructions such as viaducts or multi-span bridges, #launchinggantries designed by HL-KATTOR are reliable beam launching equipment to deliver economic and rapid #constructionmethods for infrastructure development. Optional #overhead or #underslung #bridgelauncher. Bridge decks can be constructed span by span, or by using longitudinal pre-stressing cables that run the entire span length to stress each segment together.

There's a growing recognition of the need to enhance safety codes to mitigate catastrophic failures in structures. Incorporating measures such as redundancy in design, structural integrity assessments, and the incorporation of fail-safe mechanisms can help localize and contain failures, preventing widespread collapse and minimizing damage.

33+ Images Of The Retrofitting Process In RCC Structures

[WEBINAR] - Assessment of Highway Masonry Arch Bridges to CS454 and CIRIA C800 with LimitState:RING 4 - 12:30 - 13:00 GMT December 5th 2023 Register: https://lnkd.in/dGmNnBEB Although the action of vehicle loads seldom causes masonry arch bridges to fail at the ultimate limit state (ULS), such bridges can deteriorate rapidly when the pattern or intensity of loading changes (e.g. when large numbers of HGVs start to use a given route). To help identify such cases, permissible limit state (PLS) calculations are outlined in CIRIA C800, recently published guidance on the assessment of masonry arch bridges. The PLS is defined as the point beyond which progressive load-induced degradation occurs during the intended life of the bridge. The release of LimitState:RING 4 means that PLS calculations in accordance with CIRIA C800 can now be carried out very quickly and easily. Also, the latest revision of the National Highways standard for assesment, CS454, permits application of these PLS calculations to UK highway bridges. Join my colleague Thomas Pritchard and me on 5 December 2023 to see how to rapidly perform both ULS and PLS assessment calculations for highway bridges using LimitState:RING 4. Specifically, we'll cover: * What the PLS is, and how it facilitates more discriminating assessment of the performance of bridges under working loads. * CIRIA C800 PLS calculations, and how these can be used in accordance with CS454. * The use of built-in CS454 load vehicles in LimitState:RING 4. * The use of template files incorporating CS454/CIRIA C800 specific settings in LimitState:RING 4. * Batch analysis using the command line interface in LimitState:RING 4. This webinar follows on from a recent webinar introducing LimitState:RING 4 - the recording is available here: https://lnkd.in/dfQU-NxS Note also that both CIRIA C800 and CS454 are free to download: CIRIA C800: https://lnkd.in/g9FYUf6r CS454: https://lnkd.in/dHYWxFFU #bridgeengineering #structuralengineering #limitstatering #masonry #archbridge #cs454 #ciriac800