09.6.2015 | Bridge Building
Walton Bridge:
community ties
The days of contractors and clients planning infrastructure
improvements in private without any outside input are long gone.
The element of public consultation has become an embedded,
central part of project planning.
Roads, bridges, stations and
parks are built for the public
good – so it’s only right that the
public should have input into
their design and construction?
This view has been at the heart
of one of Atkins’ most iconic
and successful recent projects –
Surrey County Council’s A244
bridge over the River Thames at
Walton on Thames in the UK.
“The ethos was to design and
construct an iconic, new,
permanent bridge to replace two
life expired temporary bridges,”
explains Rob Wheatley, chief
engineer for Atkins’ Highways &
Transportation business in the UK.
“This through an integrated
and collaborative team approach
involving Surrey County Council
(SCC) as client, Costain Ltd as the
main contractor and we led the
design efforts.”
There have been five bridges at
Walton over the years. The first
was timber and did not last long,
while the second was washed
away in a flood. The third bridge
suffered damage during the
Second World War and was
finally demolished in 1985.
Since then, two temporary bridges
have served the crossing, which is a
vital artery over the Thames, sitting
equidistant between Hampton
Court and Chertsey Bridges and
linking north Surrey with Heathrow
and the motorway network. Given
its importance, a proper, modern
bridge was needed to provide a
permanent link across the river and
secondly, improve the traffic flow
on the approaches to and across
the bridge.
09.6.2015 | Bridge Building
Overcoming challenges
The designers faced a number
of challenges in their efforts to
construct a new road bridge over
the Thames to ease congestion
while minimising disruption and
calming local concerns over the
project’s impact. As designer of
the project, Atkins had to take
into account a range of needs:
• Requirement to provide an
iconic landmark structure that
enhances the local environment;
• A single span structure to
improve river navigation and
open up views of the River
Thames not seen for over
250 years;
• An improved carriageway to
benefit traffic flow on the key
strategic route to Heathrow
and the local road network;
• Improved facilities for
vulnerable road users by
the creation of segregated
facilities and end connections;
• Removal of the two existing
temporary bridges crossing the
River Thames was required to
be undertaken in such a way
that it minimised the impact
on the river, the environment
and the public;
• Sympathetic paving and
landscaping of the Cowey Sale
area to blend in with the
riverside setting and help to
create a traffic calmed area.
Considering the breadth of issues
that a new bridge would raise, it
was clear from the outset that
getting local communities involved
in the design of the bridge would
be vital. Would the promised
benefits be realised? Would the
historical beauty and heritage of
the area be preserved? Would
local communities be affected by
the construction process to an
unacceptable degree?
To meet these needs, the
construction team understood the
need to proactively manage the
construction process considering
both sustainability issues as well
as the maintenance of the local
benefits historically provided.
Given that, the community’s input
formed a cornerstone of the design
plans. Atkins addressed concerns
in advance so that any subsequent
objections would be few and easily
met by the design.
design at Cowey Sale be looked
at again. As a consequence, the
design was changed from a clover
leaf arrangement to a priority
junction layout to increase the
amount of prime Open Space
being retained,” explains Wheatley.
“And that was followed by the
reduced arch height, the addition
of a permanent cafe/toilet block, a
series of timber bridges and mown
paths within the Cowey Sale to
open the area for the public.”
As an added amenity, extensive
landscaping was done throughout
the site area, including a new
ecological pond, improved
facilities to the existing car park in
the Cowey Sale as well as better
connections for pedestrians,
cyclists and horse riders between
the A244, the Cowey Sale and
the Thames Tow Path.
TAKING IT INTO ACCOUNT
As part of the effort, promoter
SCC and contractor Costain set
about hosting community
meetings to explain the challenges
and solutions at every stage of the
project. The level of detail involved
in this was truly remarkable. For
example, concerns over the impact
on local wildlife were met by
including kingfisher, bat and owl
boxes, while the colour of the arch
was selected specifically to help
swans see it (they are short sighted
by nature). In addition, invasive
plants in the area were cleared
out to allow local flora to flourish.
“The initial Public Inquiry in
2006 resulted in the Planning
Inspectorate refusing permission
and requesting that the junction
Naturally, the impact of such a
significant construction project
on local businesses can threaten
to become a real issue with
traffic diversions and delays
due to works taking place
on the road network, and
increased congestion caused by
construction site-generated traffic.
In order to minimise these,
and having taken on board
local concerns, a number of
measures were put in place
during construction.
• All deliveries were made
off-peak and dedicated
traffic marshals employed
to swiftly and safely remove
them from the highway.
09.6.2015 | Bridge Building
• The river navigation was
maintained throughout
the construction works.
The navigation controls
were developed in
consultation with the
Environment Agency and
the local River Users Group.
Liaison with the local water
sport clubs ensured their
needs were addressed and
their safe enjoyment of the
waterway was maintained.
• Excessive road closures
were avoided, but, where
unavoidable, we minimised the
impact on traffic congestion.
All traffic management was
implemented off peak or
overnight, extensively advertised
in advance through the SCC
website, including dedicated
project pages, a letter drop to
local residents and businesses,
press releases to local
newspapers and travel alerts
on local radio stations. The
diversion routes were clearly
signed with special advance
warning signs advising of the
implemented road closure at
all strategic junctions.
• Opportunities for the local
community to meet the project
team and learn more about the
project including the future
construction timeline and any
possible impact to the public
caused by the works, at
quarterly Community
Engagement meetings.
• The Thames pathway was
maintained through the site
along a robust rolled stone
diversion with clear signage
and child friendly route maps.
• Pedestrian and cycle routes were
maintained across the river.
Throughout all this, a key part of
ensuring the bridge was viewed as
positive addition to the local
landscape was allowing the
community to visit and understand
how it was being built. Costain
made sure guided tours of the
construction site were arranged for
the public, and organised visits for
nearly 1,000 local school children
to be escorted around the site and
learn about the different roles
undertaken by the project team
while promoting the opportunities
a career in construction can bring
through a series of presentations.
After being completed on time
and to budget, the new Walton
Bridge opened in July 2013.
Since then, the reaction from
the community has been
overwhelmingly positive.
“Feedback from the local business
groups has provided a positive
indicator of the benefits of both
the new bridge and the wider
improvements to the area,”
says Wheatley. “They include
the regeneration in terms
of a commercial benefit to
businesses on either side of
the bridge and the construction
of the new bridge has attracted
additional people to this part
of Surrey who now regularly
return now that the project
has been completed. This has
generated additional customers
for local businesses who feel
that there will be significant
business opportunities in the
coming years.”
Surrey County Council Cabinet
Member for Transport John Furey
said: “Good transport links help
businesses grow, so as well as
becoming the Thames’ latest
landmark, Walton Bridge is also
boosting Surrey’s future prosperity.”
Surrounding communities are so
proud of their new bridge that
some local businesses have even
incorporated images of the
structure into their company logos
as they want to be associated with
the new bridge and the area.
The impact on local business
and community is not the only
lasting legacy of the bridge.
The success of the community
engagement strategy and suite
of communications tools used
for this project are to now be
included in future major schemes
undertaken by SCC. The various
communication tools used, ranged
from regular update letters, live
webcam, dedicated website, visual
accessibility of the site, community
engagement meetings, directed
media coverage, community
activities and site progress
information boards.
Beyond that, the innovation and
consideration that went into the
bridge’s design and construction
have been recognised by a range
of industry bodies. It has already
picked up several awards. Judges
at the 2014 Institute of Structural
Engineers awards singled out
Atkins’ work on the bridge as
09.6.2015 | Bridge Building
being especially noteworthy.
They said: “This, simple yet
elegant, project demonstrates
the ability of the design and
build process in delivering a
high value and delightful bridge.
The team worked tirelessly over
many years to thoroughly satisfy
the changing demands of the
project at every level.”
In 2014, the Institute of Civil
Engineering (ICE) announced the
bridge had won its prestigious
London Community Award.
In its commendation, the ICE
said: “Walton Bridge strongly
demonstrates the benefits of
partnership working, with Surrey
County Council, Costain and
Atkins staff working as a fully
integrated team to overcome
significant challenges with
innovative and effective solutions
to deliver a truly exceptional
project. Importantly, the team has
established the project as part of
the local community and has
greatly satisfied local residents.”
In addition, the project
received the prestigious British
Construction Industry Best
Practice Award in 2014, in
recognition of the efforts
of the whole team. This year
the project has been shortlisted
in the Construction News
Awards Project of the Year
(£10 to £50 million) category.
Join the discussion at
angles.atkinsglobal.com
and tell us what you think.