M8 White Cart Viaduct

21/08/2018

Project Overview

As part of the maintenance contract for the trunk road and motorway network in South West Scotland, we installed a suspended access walkway under the deck of the M8 White Cart Viaduct, which crosses the tidal section of the White Cart Water river in Renfrewshire.

AmcoGiffen’s Scope of Works

The walkway was designed to provide a fixed access to the twin box girders between piers 12 and 13 on the viaduct for inspection and maintenance purposes, with access taken from new galvanised steel staircases at either side of the river, spanning 76m at a 21m height.

AmcoGiffen collaborated with Scotland TranServ to secure all necessary approvals. Key stakeholders included Transport Scotland, Renfrewshire Council and Marine Scotland.

Our overall scope of works included:

Design development and client technical approvals
Foundations preparation for staircase structures
Fabrication of the Fibreglass Reinforced Polymer (FRP) walkway structures
Fabrication of the spiral staircases
Installation of fixing points on traverse beams
Assembly of walkway and staircase structures
Installation of the walkway and staircase structures

An additional culvert replacement package was introduced to take advantage of the economies of scale and make full use of the Marine Licence secured by Scotland TranServ:

Removal of an existing culvert and headwall
Temporary drainage and environmental protection
Permanent protection sheet piling
Erosion protection with rock armour
Installation of a 900mm surface water culvert
New concrete culvert headwall (precast and insitu works)
Embankment restoration

Receiving gratitude from the client, we’re proud to have delivered an innovative solution for TranServ, which reduces a long standing access issue for this iconic bridge.

AmcoGiffen

Innovation Applied

The walkway was constructed from Fibreglass Reinforced Polymer (FRP) – reducing the weight of the suspended structures and providing increased durability over steel, given that this is a marine environment. The substantially reduced weight enabled the scale of the fixing components to the underside of the deck to be reduced, saving time.

As an alternative to scaffolding, and based on our extensive experience with railway structures, a rope access specialist was employed to assist with the fixing operations. Prefabrication and assembly at ground level substantially reduced the number of colleagues engaged in working at height.

Benefits Provided

With all planned and additional works completed safely, on time, to specification and within budget, the mutual project success has led to repeat business with Scotland Transerv.

Benefits of the project included:

Essential maintenance to the viaduct, preventing potential issues
Easier walkway access across the major river
Increased safety of the structure

Further benefits provided by AmcoGiffen:

A robust and comprehensive understanding of the technical scope
A strong commitment to around the clock health and safety
The ability to promptly adjust to project modifications
A client-first commitment and excellence driven philosophy

Project Contact

For further info please contact Peter Judd, pjudd@amco.co.uk