Wexford Transformed.


Wexford County Hall.	*Wexford Bridge Reconstruction 1997.*	A Wexford County Council Project.
Home. Theatre Royal Wexford. Theatre Royal Demolition Wexford Opera House. Wexford Bridge. The Bullring. Wexford Quays. Wind Farm. The Talbot Hotel Other Projects. Back to Top.		Prestressed concrete bridge constructed by Ascon Limited in 1959. Effects of the marine environment on the concrete required that the existing deck had to be replaced. The bridge closed for ten weeks from the 15th September 1997
		A total weight of 1650 tonnes of plate girder was fabricated in Pordenone in Northern Italy and shipped in lengths of 13 - 23m. The plate girders were assembled on the 5 acre site beside the bridge.
		Demolition was carried out simultaneously from both ends of the cantilever spans. The sections over each twin pier, weighing 100 tonnes, were cut and lifted off by the Marlin floating crane.
		The Contractors, Ascon Ltd., employed 150 tonne and 65 tonne Sumitomo crawler cranes on land, and the Marlin 375 tonne ringer floating crane on the water as well as a pontoon-mounted 85 tonne crane.
		The steel girders were lifted in pairs onto the bearing seatings at the piers. Each span projected 18m beyond the piers providing stability for the next lift. The maximum weight of the twin girders was 145 tonnes.
		Precast concrete deck units were fabricated by Banagher Concrete and transported to site for immediate lifting onto the girders. The units included anchorages for parapet posts and lighting standards. Erection of the precast units commenced as soon as the first three spans of structural steel girder were in place.
		Installation of railings and public lighting. Waterproofing of concrete deck, surfacing and other miscellaneous finishes.
		The replacement bridge, designed by Barry & Partners, is a continuous steel girder deck with a composite concrete slab.
		The girders are supported on bearings off the reconstructed original piers and abutments.
		Exposed steel was painted to a Marine A 20 year maintenance specification. The interior of the structures between the steel flanges was "enclosed" with metal decking.
		The bridge was reopened on Saturday the 22nd November 1997 at 2.30p.m. by the Minister for the Environment and Local Government Noel Dempsey T.D.
		Interesting Facts. Wexford Bridge is almost 400m long and is the longest in the Republic. The first Wexford Bridge was a wooden structure built in 1794 and cost £15,000. (approx £1m today)
		The weight of deck of the completed bridge is 2269 tonnes and the weight of the steel girders is 1650 tonnes giving a total bridge weight of 3819 tonnes. The project cost £6.46 million and was completed in only 10 weeks.
	John B. Barry & Partners. Consulting Engineers. Ascon Ltd. Contractors. Banagher Concrete. Bridge Deck. Construzioni Cimolai Armando SpA. Steel Fabrication and assembly. The project was co-financed by the European Union Maratime Interreg Programme and the Department of the Environmen

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	Site Created 29th April 2001. Best Viewed 800 x 600 Updated 28th february 2007. Version 6.00 All images on this site are the property of Wexford Transformed unless otherwise stated. © 2007.