News
A630 Catcliffe Bypass
23/06/2009
This article has been adopted from the Concrete Magazine in the April 2009 edition
The A630 is a dual carriageway that connects Sheffield with the lifeblood of the north – the M1. Carrying 50,000 vehicles a day between the city and the motorway. Burrowed beneath the A360 was a vehicle underpass that fed local traffic within the Catcliffe, Brinsworth and Sheffield City Airport area.
The task confronting Osborne was the construction of a new subway designed specifically for non-motorised traffic to run parallel to the existing bypass. This would not only allow pedestrians, cyclists and even equestrian riders to travel more safely but also allow the widening of the existing bypass from two lanes to three. The real challenge came in carrying out the required works while, in the words of client,”maintaining trafffic flows and minimising disruption to the road users”.
Osborne established that the 35m-long subway could be built in-situ by programming three meticulously planned sections, with bridge specialists ABM employing the Matière Opti-Cadre box bridge system.
The 35m length of the subway required the construction and the installation of 13 standard units with square ends, while starter bars where located in the roof slabs of the end units to tie into the headwalls. Each end of the tunnel was
finished with in-situ wing-walls to match the adjacent subway design and all joints were made watertight using a polysulphide sealant on the internal faces, a gun-grade hydrophilic sealant midway and the external faces sealant midway and the external faces sealed using Pitchmastic’s BP1 spray-applied joint.
ABM Design and Build’s history of devising innovative solutions to complex infrastructure problems made the company perfect for a project where speed was of the essence.
Phasing the flow
Phase 1: 28/11/07-16/04/08
Eastbound traffic was restricted to minimum lane widths, which made room for the construction. Significant temporary works were installed to allow the 8m deep excavation to be formed, precast elements installed and the backfill completed. When this was completed, the eastbound traffic was then diverted over this section.
Phase 2: 17/04/08-07/07/08
Westbound traffic was restricted to minimum lane widths while the eastbound traffic ran over the first section of subway, in turn creating sufficient working room to construct the second section, which followed the same procedure as Phase 1.
Phase 3: 08/07/08-06/12-08
The final phase saw eastbound traffic still running over the first section of subway. This allowed the remaining section to be completed.
Concluding remarks
The finished project, which is part of a junction improvement programme, overcame numerous challenges and, as a result of teamwork, enabled the development of a solution that allowed works to be undertaken, while maintaining traffic flows, in just 12 months.
This news report has been adapted from the Cut-and-Cover Subway article published in the Concrete Magazinein the April 2009 edition
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