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Friday 21 Aug 2009

HIGH LEVEL BRIDGE IS A WINNER

Region & Route:

"An enormously impressive level of engineering professionalism, from original research into the fatigue performance of cast-iron, down to the restoration of the original lamp standards"; these were the comments of the jurors at Europa Nostra who awarded the £40m restoration of the High Level Bridge a grand prize for conservation this year.

In all, since completion the project has received seven prestigious awards and today representatives from Network Rail, who own the bridge, were joined by officials from Europa Nostra, First Group, local councils,May Gurney, the contractors who completed the job, and Mott MacDondald, designers for a celebration.

Plaques to mark the Europa Nostra and Railway Heritage awards were unveiled at the centre of the bridge before Jim Cornell executive director of the Railway Heritage Trust (RHT) was presented with a cheque for €10,000 by Network Rail which was part of the Grand Prize - from the European award.

Jim Cornell, Executive Director of the Railway Heritage Trust, stated “I am delighted that Network Rail’s huge initiative to restore Robert Stephenson’s historic structure has been recognised with so many awards including the high level Europa Nostra Award. It is a pleasure and an honour for the Trust to receive a cheque for €10,000, part of Network Rail’s award, which the Trust will use to make sure that the history of the High Level Bridge is available to those who visit it and study the interpretation boards.”

John Ellis, chairman of the National Railway Heritage Awards added: "The National Railway Heritage Awards judges and adjudicators were hugely impressed by the care which Network Rail and its contractors took in conserving and reconstructing the heritage features of this national monument. The bridge has been restored to its full engineering and design glory and its practical use for the present day"

In May 2008, May Gurney and Network Rail successfully completed seven years of complex strengthening and refurbishment works, which have extended the useful life of the High Level Bridge by at least another 50 years.

John Chappell, director of civil engineering at Network Rail, said; "Network Rail is honoured to be the steward of amazing aspects of our industrial heritage. A prime example of this is the stunning High Level Bridge connecting Newcastle and Gateshead. Restoring this bridge to its former glory was a very tough challenge and it's very gratifying to see the hard work of our own people and our contractors recognised so widely."

John Wilkinson, managing director of rail engineering project services at May Gurney added; “The event today recognises strong partnership working between everyone involved in the careful restoration of this iconic bridge.”

Cllr John McElroy, cabinet member for transport at Gateshead Council said: "The High Level Bridge is now seen as one of the iconic structures in Newcastle Gateshead and it's no surprise that it has won so many accolades. The restoration work has left the bridge looking fantastic and it's great that all the hard work has been recognised with a string of national awards."

John Shipley, leader of Newcastle city council added: "We are very proud of the High level Bridge which is not only a vital public transport route linking the centres of Newcastle and Gateshead, but also the finest example of a cast iron bridge anywhere in the world and a treasured historic attraction.

"These prestigious awards are a testament to the skill, ingenuity and craftsmanship brought together on behalf of Network Rail and our partners who undertook the painstaking £40m refurbishment.”