ElevArch® - Jacking heritage masonry bridges to allow for railway electrification
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Bibliographic Details
| Author(s): |
Kevin Bennett
(Freyssinet Limited, Telford, UK)
Hamish Harvey (Bill Harvey Associates Limited, Penarth, UK) |
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| Medium: | conference paper | ||||
| Language(s): | English | ||||
| Conference: | IABSE Symposium: Construction’s Role for a World in Emergency, Manchester, United Kingdom, 10-14 April 2024 | ||||
| Published in: | IABSE Symposium Manchester 2024 | ||||
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| Page(s): | 1140-1148 | ||||
| Total no. of pages: | 9 | ||||
| DOI: | 10.2749/manchester.2024.1140 | ||||
| Abstract: |
Hundreds of Britain’s masonry railway bridges are in the way of Network Rail's electrification programme. ElevArch® is a unique method to raise a masonry arch to create sufficient space for the overhead line equipment to be installed beneath. The full-scale demonstrator on East West Rail in 2016 proved the method was viable by successfully lifting a farm accommodation bridge by 900mm. The secret to its success is the careful sequencing of operations to control the arch thrust when the arch is cut free from the foundations. The method is cheaper than the two current alternatives of track lowering and bridge reconstruction and is, therefore, of interest not just for heritage structures but across the railway network. With Network Rail's electrification programme restarting after a long pause, it is time to reconsider ElevArch as a viable and cost-effective option. This paper explains ElevArch in detail to enable designers, contractors, and asset owners to assess whether the technique could be suitable for their structures. |
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| Keywords: |
sustainability heritage structures masonry arch ElevArch bridge jacking railway electrification route clearance
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