Year: 2023
Client: Suffolk County Council
Main Contractor: Farrans Construction
Moore Concrete Project Value: £1.250m
Gull Wing Bridge is a road bridge built to span Lake Lothing in the town of Lowestoft, Suffolk, which is the largest rolling bascule bridge in the world lifted using hydraulic cylinders. The bridge is planned to be completed and open to traffic in mid-2024 and is estimated to cost circa £148 million.
The bridge will be higher than the existing bascule bridge at the harbour mouth, and so will not need to be lifted as often for shipping to pass underneath. The idea of a third bridge in the area was first suggested in 1918, and approval for the Lake Lothing Third Crossing was granted in 2020. It was renamed Gull Wing Bridge after a competition for names being held at local schools in the area.
Moore Concrete were approached by NI based company Farrans Construction in late 2022 and challenged with the manufacture and supply of the Precast Concrete Cofferdam Skirts, Parapets, Dolphins, Fenders Panels and Edge Beams amounting to circa 1700 tonnes of concrete. All units were cast in our standard concrete colour mix with basalt, fibre and steel reinforcement. Throughout the project we produced over 75 different unit types.
A major challenge throughout the project was the alignment and placement of Bolt Cradles which had to be set at exactly 2.0m centres on all Edge Beams and Parapets. This was to allow the fitment of a pedestrian safety barrier along both sides of the bridge. Most of these units were bespoke and were very intricate in their detail.
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