As the adage has it, the best time to fix the roof is when the sun is shining. That鈥檚 sound advice for anybody 鈥� but especially so if you happen to be responsible for maintaining a piece of critical infrastructure.
And that is why National Highways 鈥� custodian of England鈥檚 trunk road network 鈥� has enlisted the help of contractor Winvic to replace expansion joints on the Orwell Bridge carrying the A14 over the River Orwell just south of Ipswich.
When it opened in 1982, the Orwell Bridge boasted the longest pre-stressed concrete span in the country at 190m and a total length 鈥� including the approach spans at either end 鈥� of 1,287m. The design incorporates expansion joints at either end of the span to accommodate movement of up to 200mm in the main span.
This article was first published in the July 2025 issue of 91黑料网 Index Magazine. Sign up online.
Bridge joints are crucial components in bridge construction, allowing for movement and expansion of the bridge structure due to temperature changes, shrinkage and traffic loads. They essentially provide a flexible connection between bridge sections, preventing damage and ensuring continued operation.
But these joints have a limited life-span and those on the Orwell Bridge have already been replaced once, in 1998. Now half of them need replacing again. 鈥淥ver time the joints have deteriorated due to wear and tear,鈥� says Simon Amor, National Highways鈥� head of scheme delivery for this project.
鈥淭raffic passes right over them and that traffic has become much heavier over the past 30 years,鈥� he adds. 鈥淭here鈥檚 around 60,000 vehicles going over the bridge every day.鈥�
Winvic鈥檚 contract is for the replacement of the two joints at either end of the westbound carriageway. The eastbound carriageway joints are good for a few years yet but will also be replaced some time within the next five years, says Amor.
National Highways carries out regular inspections of the bridge structure, including the joints and bearings. There are also numerous sensors mounted in and on the bridge to monitor its condition in real time.
鈥淲e decided to do the westbound ones now because they鈥檙e in worse condition; we had a couple of minor scares last autumn and had to close one lane at short notice,鈥� Amor explains.
Winvic鈥檚 task this summer is to break out and remove the old expansion joints and replace them with new joints manufactured by German specialist Maurer 鈥� which also made the original joints.
This article was first published in the July 2025 issue of 91黑料网 Index Magazine. Sign up online.
Work started on 16th June and is scheduled for completion in August. Throughout the project a contraflow will remain in operation with traffic sharing the eastbound carriageway, with one lane in use in each direction.
Keeping the traffic flowing is a critical requirement, says Winvic contracts director Scott Martin. 鈥淭he Orwell Bridge is very politically sensitive. It鈥檚 the only route around Ipswich and it carries all the traffic to and from the coast, including the ports and Sizewell C,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he diversion route is very difficult, especially for HGVs, because it goes right through the middle of Ipswich.鈥�
The impact of an unscheduled bridge closure was graphically illustrated in December 2023 when a survey vehicle carrying a cradle to access the underside of the deck broke down on the bridge. Specialist equipment had to be brought down from North Yorkshire before the vehicle could be moved. The resulting 17-hour closure brought roads around Ipswich to a standstill 鈥� the worst traffic disruption in the town鈥檚 history.
鈥淲henever there鈥檚 an incident involving the bridge there鈥檚 always a lot of publicity,鈥� says Amor. 鈥淥ne of the reasons we鈥檙e doing this in the summer is that it鈥檚 an exposed structure and easily affected by the weather. We want to get it done quickly and create as little disruption as possible.鈥�
An announcement in May gave drivers advanced warning of the imminent maintenance works. 鈥淲e fully understand the impact these essential works will have on the town, the surrounding county and beyond,鈥� said Martin Fellows, National Highways鈥� regional director for the East. 鈥淲e are setting out details of the work now so people and businesses can plan ahead.鈥�
He added: 鈥淎 range of options to carry out these essential works were considered. We have worked closely with Suffolk County Council, the police and many stakeholders and have agreed that using a contraflow system during the roadworks was the least disruptive for road users, local communities, businesses and others who depend on the bridge on a daily basis.鈥�
This article was first published in the July 2025 issue of 91黑料网 Index Magazine. Sign up online.
Winvic鈥檚 contract involves the use of hydrodemolition equipment to break the old joints out of the deck so that the new ones can be lifted into place. In addition to supplying the new joints, Maurer is also supplying the cranage to lift out the old joints, each weighing around 7.5 tonnes, and overseeing the installation of the replacements.
Birmingham-based specialist Sabre is carrying out the hydrodemolition, which involves removing the concrete into which the old joints are embedded using high-pressure water-jetting.
鈥淭he joints are set into steel box structures embedded in the concrete deck,鈥� says Amor. 鈥淓ach one is about 1m wide and they鈥檙e embedded about 1m into the concrete on either side; so each joint is about 3m wide in total.
鈥淭he contractor will need to break out about 20m3 of concrete to remove them. It鈥檚 a slow process and they can only remove about 0.5m3 per shift. That鈥檚 why we鈥檙e working round the clock,鈥� he adds.
Winvic is carrying out the work as part of Lot 8 of National Highways鈥� Scheme Delivery Framework (SDF) for area 6 (eastern region). The contract was awarded in February this year.
This article was first published in the July 2025 issue of 91黑料网 Index Magazine. Sign up online.
As principal contractor, Winvic has appointed Maurer and Sabre. WSP is Winvic鈥檚 engineer designer partner. Other Lot 10 providers include Chevron, which is providing traffic management, and Toppesfield, which will carry out carriageway surfacing to the contraflow crossovers.
The scheme is the latest in a growing number of public sector civil engineering contracts secured by Winvic, a contractor best-known as a 鈥榮heds and beds鈥� specialist focusing on warehousing, built-to-rent flats and student accommodation.
Winvic鈥檚 entry into the public infrastructure sector began in earnest five years ago, when Rob Cook joined the company to take up the new post of civils and infrastructure director. Cook has spent his entire career in public sector civil engineering and was previously regional director with Graham Group.
Martin, who joined Winvic in January 2021, about six months after Cook, explains: 鈥淚n 2020, all of our civils and infrastructure projects were for private sector clients but today we have places on five public sector frameworks.
鈥淲e鈥檙e now firmly established in the sector, delivering schemes that include significant highways works, bridges and structures, rail freight terminals and site-wide infrastructure works.鈥� The company has seen a 400% growth in this sector over the past five years, he adds.
Although Winvic only established a dedicated civils and infrastructure division with the appointment of Cook in 2020, the company already had plenty of experience in delivering roads, bridges, tunnel structures and associated infrastructure as part of its commercial聽 contracts, especially in the logistics sector.
This track record helped the company to secure a place on the National Highways SDF framework in late 2021, since when Winvic has carried out maintenance work on more than 150 National Highways structures. The company now covers four geographical areas across two lots: Lot 8 (structures, waterproofing and expansion joints 鈥� which covers the Orwell Bridge project) and Lot 10 (structures, structural services and concrete repairs).
This article was first published in the July 2025 issue of 91黑料网 Index Magazine. Sign up online.
And while the Orwell bridge is a critical pinch-point on the road network, it is neither the first nor the most challenging bridge repair contract Winvic has undertaken for National Highways. The company鈥檚 first contract under the SDF framework was in fact an emergency repair job on the M62 Ouse Bridge between Goole and Howden in Yorkshire.
Routine investigations by National Highways had revealed damage to one of the bridge joints and some of the concrete under the deck caused by traffic vibration. Winvic was appointed to carry out the necessary repairs in April 2022.
A contraflow system was put in place to reduce traffic on the affected eastbound carriageway to allow temporary works to begin. But further investigation by Winvic鈥檚 structural engineer then found excessive deflection within the cantilever deck under lane three and Winvic recommended that all traffic should be removed from this lane.
There followed two years of painstaking work to complete the repairs and replace the damaged expansion joint. The bridge was finally returned to normal operation and the 70mph speed limit reinstated in October 2024.
Since securing a place on the SDF framework, Winvic has continued to target public sector infrastructure work, resulting on its inclusion on four more frameworks: the North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO) framwork, Lincolnshire County Council鈥檚 Lincs Select highways framework and the Warwickshire Highways framework.
To reinforce its ability to respond to the demands of these new clients, Winvic hopes to offer a turnkey service with the recent acquisition of two specialist subsidiaries.
Sitecrete, a Northamptonshire-based manufacturer and supplier of ready-mix concrete, was acquired in May 2023 along with Peterborough-based Premier Plant, a provider of the plant, machinery and surveying equipment.
鈥淭hese partnerships mean we can quickly implement up-to-the-minute technologies and spearhead industry innovation,鈥� says Cook.
鈥淒eploying mobile concrete batching plants and having full visibility over the machinery utilised allows us to enhance efficiency, have greater quality control and reduce environmental impacts,鈥� he adds.
鈥淭he benefit of Sitecrete, for example, goes beyond our ability to be precise with our concrete mixes and reduce deliveries, waste and carbon. We can undertake highways reconstruction projects with a focus on recycling concrete that has reached its end of life. Instead of discarding old concrete, we process it through a batching plant and repurpose it as a sub-base layer for new roads, reinforcing our commitment to sustainable construction practices.鈥�
Winvic is expected to complete the joint replacement on the Orwell bridge in August. And while the old joints lasted less than 30 years before they needed replacing, the new ones are designed for a full 50 years of operation.
Nevertheless, Winvic could find itself back on the Orwell bridge again before too long. As previously mentioned, the expansion joints on the eastbound carriageway are due for replacement within the next five years, as are the bridge bearings themselves.
鈥淭he bearings will need to be replaced, but not for a while,鈥� says Simon Amor. 鈥淏ut we can probably do most of that work from underneath the bridge and therefore won鈥檛 need to close any lanes鈥� 鈥� which will welcome news not just to National Highways but also to the people of Ipswich and the surrounding area.
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