On Tuesday 26 March, Eiffage Kier apprentices along with their fellow apprentices from other Joint Venture partners (including BBV, Arup, Fusion and WSP) and teaching staff from the National College for High Speed Rail were welcomed for a site visit at the Mersey Gateway project. The Mersey Gateway is a Bridge over the River Mersey connecting the towns of Runcorn and Widnes which opened in October 2018 and was constructed by Merseylink, a JV between Kier, Samsung C&T and FCC.
During the visit, which was organised by our Skills and Employment manager Neil Wilcock, the apprentices were given a presentation by Jim Rice, Senior Operations Manager at Merseylink. He explained how the bridge was procured, designed and constructed, and gave them a tour of the bridge itself.
The tour involved accessing the North Approach Viaduct (NAV) to view the internal workings and layout of the bridge, along with the various elements of the structure including abutments, expansion joints, piers, bridge deck, tolling gantry, cables, stresses, and pylons which support the deck of the bridge.
Neil, who previously worked on this project, was on hand along with members of the Tarmac team (O&M contractor) to answer any questions.