The Whorlton Suspension Bridge is a Grade-II listed structure and a scheduled monument (Historic England) and is one of the UK’s oldest road suspension bridges with the deck totally supported by its original chains.
In 2019, an inspection forced the bridge to be closed to all vehicles to allow further investigations into the cause of reported damage to the bridge.
At the end of 2020, the bridge was closed to all users due to public safety .
The rehabilitation project involves the whole suspension and deck structure being removed, refurbished and re-erected. Each element is to be removed from site and refurbished in a workshop offsite.
VolkerLaser is currently working on behalf of Durham County Council to carry out structural rehabilitation works to the bridge.
CaSE has been awarded several scopes for the design and checking of temporary works and continues to support VolkerLaser with the review of the dismantling/assembly sequence, including the development of various fail-safe measures for use during the dismantling.
