West Nottingham College
West Notts College provides education and training to 30,000 full and part-time students across all major industry sectors. The College has recently undergone a £40 million redevelopment providing new buildings, facilities and learning opportunities.
The main campus at Derby Road is home to the college’s largest group of students, the campus is made up of dedicated study zones for curriculum areas; equipped with the latest facilities and state-of-the-art technology which ensures our students become work-ready.
The Challenge
West Notts College were redeveloping a large area at one of their main campus sites and this included plans for a new long span bridge over the main entrance to a stunning new building. Working closely with the main contractor and the architect, the main challenges that faced DG Scott engineers were:
The works on site were current, therefore the works needed to be carried out within a busy working area.
The bridge measures 20 meters in length and allows for zero tolerance for warping over time.
Installation of the bridge was also carried out at height and with heavy sections – this required specialist equipment and a highly skilled team.
All stainless steel welding would need to be undertaken on site.
Additional high-tension stringers, for side barriers, were required to add further reinforcement to the long span bridge.
The Solution
DG Scott engineers closely with the architect and main building contractor to ensure that the timing of installation and works would be co-ordinated with other major work. Good communication with all contractors on site was essential to ensure safety and timely installation. DG Scott engineers worked closely with all partners and the bespoke bridge and steps were installed on site, on time and on budget:
The bridge and stairs was made of steel frame with a concrete deck and finished with a stainless steel handrail and glazed balustrades.
Scaffolding towers and Genie Booms were used to ensure the uneven concrete floor below was stabilised during installation.
Creating an attractive bridge was important for this project, all sections were created with a seamless finish and welded to ensure long-term stability and strength.
Additional stringers were fitted to spread the load of tension and a highly polished stainless steel finish to the railings completed the overall look.