Holme Hall Quarry, Rotherham, UK

Challenge

Holme Hall Quarry in South Yorkshire is owned and operated by the Breedon Group, a leading supplier of aggregates, cement, ready-mixed concrete, asphalt and specialist construction products. The quarry began operations in the 1930s and today produces over 2.4 million tonnes of limestone products each year. Throughout this time, Holme Hall Quarry has played a vital role in the local economy and community, the site employs many people from the surrounding areas, and its projects have contributed to several recent construction projects in the region.

Further excavation work in the quarry necessitated a new bridge construction to maintain existing public access over the new extraction site. The route typically needed to accommodate up to 45 cars and 35 HGV per day and was expected to be in service for at least five years. Not only did it need to be robust, withstanding the rigours of quarry life; it needed to be economical but also versatile enough to be installed on the pre-formed abutments of differing heights. A modular steel bridge solution was determined to be the ideal fit to meet each of these requirements.

Solution

Mabey Bridge designed and supplied a single span, 42m x 4.2m Compact 200™ to enable the extension of the road. Consulting engineers BT Bell prepared the sub-structure work (including abutments) and calculated the road alignment and levelling requirements to ensure that the bridge could be built to suit the existing road alignment, which was not level with one bank 1.1m lower than the other. This enabled the new bridge to be launched efficiently.

Result

Within ten days of commencing bridge construction, the access road became fully operational once again, enabling public traffic to drive safely over the ongoing extraction works.