Safer bridges over railway lines

Pioneering research into strengthening Britain’s bridge parapets, particularly over railway lines, will presented at an international conference on Wednesday 21 August by a top Teesside Professor.

The eight-year project has been led by Professor Brian Hobbs, who holds the Cecil M. Yuill Chair of Construction and is Director of the School of Science & Technology at the University of Teesside, assisted by research engineer Peter Newton. The research team includes the Universities of Sheffield and Liverpool.

They will present their findings at the State of the Art in Structural Fastening and Connections conference being held at Imperial College, London. Speaking about the project, which attracted funding from the UK Government Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and is supported by Railtrack and London Underground, Professor Hobbs, said: “Our proposal is to reinforce bridge parapets without altering their appearance. This can be done by drilling specifically designed and constructed steel and fibre composite strengthening rods into the brickwork at precise angles, which enhance its ability to absorb as much of the impact from an accident as is possible.

“A vehicle hitting an unsuitable bridge parapet can create disastrous results, not only for road users but also for any trains which may be passing below and we confident that our reinforcing technique is the best available solution.

“I’m looking forward to discussing our findings with colleagues at the conference and who knows, some may want to see if the process can be adapted for their own countries.”

The University of Teesside has provided a dedicated research laboratory and a unique ‘test rig’ which simulates the impact of a vehicle hitting a bridge parapet at varying speeds to support this valuable research. Each test takes approximately two months to plan as each ‘parapet’ has to be specifically built and assessed before the impact test can be carried out.

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