Project Outline:

Somerset Town Council appointed Walters to undertake major bridge refurbishments on North Town Bridge in the centre of Taunton which is a Grade II listed structure. The project involved the refurbishment of many structural, functional and aesthetic elements of the bridge.

Project Delivery:

Walters started on site in January 2024 and commenced refurbishment works of the bridge. As the bridge is a Grade II listed structure, there were multiple specialist elements of the works which had to be in keeping with the original structure.

Walters undertook shotblasting activities on all the painted steel elements of the bridge, and then repainted all the areas in line with the detailed specification and original colours. Repairs to the concrete bridge soffit were completed as well as replacement of the expansion joints.

A pontoon and access scaffold were set up on the river to access the underside of the bridge where structural steel repairs were completed by subcontractors. The structural repairs were an unplanned necessity and managed by Walters so that no additional time was added to the programme. Walters liaised with the Taunton Canoe Club to make sure that access to the waterway was kept clear.

Walters re-waterproofed the footways and completed repairs to the carriageways and kerbs via controlled traffic management and sequenced road closures.

At the Northwest end of the bridge, a new cast iron parapet was fabricated from scratch. 3D laser scanning technology was used on the existing parapet to create moulds to cast the new section of parapet to precisely replicate the original. Walters constructed a bespoke foundation along with new brackets and end posts. Finally, the new parapet was painted in-situ to match the newly refurbished bridge.

Walters made sure to protect the river and surrounding environment from pollution by installing a membrane on top of the pontoon, as well as solid timber hoarding and a shrink-wrapped encapsulation so dust was contained within the site confines. Pre-commencement engagement with the Environment Agency (EA) and Canal & Rivers Trust (CRT) was conducted to apply for the respective permits and a solution was agreed in advance regarding flood alerts and emergency action plan.

Joe Sullivan,  Walters Site Agent said, “This project posed significant challenges, both in planning and logistics, as we had to ensure that various elements of the bridge restoration were carried out while maintaining public access and traffic flow. One of the major environmental concerns was the removal of lead-based paint, which was mitigated by fully encapsulating the bridge. This encapsulation also provided a controlled dry working zone for the painting process.”

Added Value & Client Partnerships:

During the first part of the project, protective hoarding was up across the bridge which was kindly decorated by an exhibition of artwork created by children from North Town primary School. The artwork is inspired by climate change and was created by the school children with GoCreate Taunton CIC at The Arts Hub.

Walters are always happy to support community projects such as this one, which encourages people to discuss how climate change impacts their local area.

Throughout the project the Walters site team completed slipway repair works for Taunton Canoe club. The Canoe Club reached out to Walters during the works to the bridge and the site teams were happy to help.

Ross Matthews, Senior Engineer and Project Manager for Somerset Council provided the following feedback, “Walters were proactive, collaborative and information flow worked very well, they had professional attitudes and standards and delivered high quality work. Walters were able to reduce the overall length of programme by nearly 2 months and resolved issues well. Walters were good at monitoring and self-managing the (often unavoidable) noisy activities to minimise disruption to the public and it was as also really good to see the extra effort put in to help with community liaison.”