The Erskine Bridge is a multi-span cable-stayed box girder bridge spanning the River Clyde in west-central Scotland. This £15 million project involved a major refurbishment of the bridge with CaSE International involved in construction engineering and temporary works design.
CaSE developed a complex sequence of partial dismantling and piece-by-piece removal of the old bearings prior to piece-by-piece installation of the new bearings, assisted by temporary works to carry and transport the components on temporary works without assistance from overhead lifting equipment.
CaSE also developed a handling and transportation system that could lift the panels and relocate them onto a bespoke trailer waiting in the cycle track without overstressing either the panels themselves or the pedestrian barrier and cycleway. The trailer could be towed away using a small tractor vehicle.
Design work on the permanent gantry beams, temporary works, and dismantling methods was also undertaken to prevent overstressing permanent works and safe dismantling with little disruption to the public. Bespoke trolleys were designed and attached to the permanent gantry beams from which the temporary underdeck access gantries used during the repainting of the underside of the bridge deck box girder could be suspended without overstressing the permanent works. CaSE designed temporary works and dismantling methods to anchor parts of the pipe allowing cutting out of a small section followed by the safe release of the in-built stresses, leaving it safe for piece-by-piece dismantling and removal using the footway panel system.