RMD Kwikform has supplied its Ascent-F Climbing Formwork and a range of bespoke solutions to concrete specialist Howard Civil Engineering, to construct four complex 30 metre high concrete towers, which will support a 38 metre high lifting bridge over Manchester’s Shipping Canal.
The project is part of a £30 million Western Gateway Infrastructure Scheme (WGIS) currently being undertaken by main contractor HOCHTIEF (UK) Construction / Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd Joint Venture (JV) for client Peel Holdings.
With the first phase of WGIS underway, which includes several rail over road bridges and various new link roads, the key challenge faced by Howard Civil Engineering was the safe delivery of the lift bridge structure within a tight programme time. Due to the location of the site, underneath the live M60 motorway and adjacent to a ship canal, RMD Kwikform collaborated with Howard Civil Engineering from the project’s inception.
Through early onsite engagement, the RMD Kwikform engineering team from the local Haydock branch were able to create an integrated solution using specialist Ascent-F climbing formwork, along with cleverly designed internal wall formwork sections. To cope with various changes to the interior voids of the columns, which change shape numerous times throughout the build, the wall formwork frames were designed to accommodate various ‘add-on’ sections.
With the programme demanding that each of the four towers is to be constructed simultaneously, there is very little room for error and therefore an extra focus on Health and Safety, as Robert Forrest from Howard Civil Engineering explains: “Due to the constraints of the programme and the complexities of the project, it was crucial that we used a system that ensured maximum safety and efficiency. Howard Civil Engineering engaged with RMD Kwikform at the very early stages, which allowed its design team to engineer a flexible solution where all
eventualities could be controlled by one system. Without this collaboration, we would have had to dismantle and make changes to the formwork system in the middle of the project, which would have cost a great deal more time and money.”
Dermot Donelon, RMD Kwikform representative from Haydock branch, said: “Our branch engineering team put the designs together for each phase of the project, prior to its commencement. Due to its unusual nature we also helped the team onsite, supporting the fabrication of frames and erection sequencing of the Ascent-F climbing system.”
For more information, visit www.rmdkwikform.com.
