Stoke Road Footbridge

Client:  English Partnerships

Approx. value:  £1m

Duration:  35 weeks

English Partnerships appointed JCE to carry out the construction of a 22m elliptical arch bridge over the Grand Union Canal, along with associated earthworks and footpaths.  The contract also involved constructing 80m of access road to a future development site, complete with signalisation of its junction with the main road.

The ground conditions were so poor that for the first time for all concerned a Tensar earth reinforcement system was used in conjunction with Maxit lightweight aggregate.  Due to access restrictions the Maxit aggregate had to be “blown” (pneumatically transported) to the far side of the canal.

The footbridge is the largest all-brick bridge built since the 19th Century.  There were approximately 55,000 bricks in the arch, 28,000 of which were hand made and hand cut.  The depth of the arch in the centre is only 0.55m.