SINCE the start of 2024 the M25 junction 28 team have had to navigate around the winter weather, but it has not dampened progress being made across the scheme, as the project gear up to some key construction activities coming up this year. This is including the upcoming beam lift for Duckwood Bridge.
The M25 junction 28 plays an important role in connecting the A12 and the M25, as well as providing access to Brentwood via the A1023. Up to 7,500 vehicles pass through the junction roundabout at peak times. The National Highways scheme will increase capacity, reduce congestion at the junction and provide a better connection between the M25 and A12.
Research show that traffic is expected to increase in the area by around 30% by 2037, which means that over 9,000 vehicles could be passing through it by this date.
Duckwood Bridge is one of four structures for the scheme, with beams already having been lifted into place on Maylands Bridge, Grove Bridge, and Alderwood Bridge.
Temporary trestles are now in place, ready to receive the beams for Duckwood Bridge.
The complex operation will see several steel girders lifted into place in pairs for Duckwood Bridge, using a 1000 tonne crane. This operation entails bolting together smaller beams mid-air before lifting the completed beams onto the structure. This is the largest beam lift for the project, requiring the biggest capacity crane, as Duckwood Bridge measures at 56 meters in length and 16 meters in width.
The finished beams, which measure between 15 and 40 meters in length and weigh up to 113 tonnes, were then craned onto concrete supports, known as abutments. The beams are expected to arrive and be lifted into place in April 2024.