Herring Bridge in Great Yarmouth has officially opened. The £121m twin leaf bascule bridge is the town’s third crossing of the River Yare and enhances the port’s reputation as both an international gateway and a major UK offshore renewable energy, oil, and gas base.
Roughan & O’Donovan (ROD) led the detailed design of this “nationally significant infrastructure project” on behalf of BAM Farrans, a joint venture between BAM UK & Ireland and Farrans Construction. Our design partners were H&H, who provide global expertise in moveable bridges, and Norfolk-based architecture firm, Lanpro.
The scheme features a practical yet beautifully engineered 50m clear span twin bascule bridge and links the A47 at Harfrey’s roundabout to the port and the enterprise zone on the east side of the river. The newly completed bridge carries two lanes of vehicular traffic in each direction and incorporates a footpath and a cycle way to provide pedestrians and cyclists with safe passage over the water. The scheme will transform travel across the town, connecting communities on either side of the harbour, easing traffic congestion, shortening journey times, and improving journey reliability.
ROD has been involved in the project since 2018, providing a broad range of multidisciplinary engineering services to our client, including bridge, structural, highways, geotechnical, environmental, and drainage design. We worked with multiple stakeholders across the project, and our collaborative engagement with the contractor was crucial to overcoming the many challenges this complex design and build scheme presented.
Speaking at the opening, Jim Thorpe, managing director at ROD and highways design lead for the project, commented: “This has been an incredibly rewarding project for our team at ROD, and we are delighted to have delivered a high-quality bridge that both the town and its residents can be proud of. Our extensive experience in bridges and urban highways design enabled us to deliver efficient designs with a focus on buildability and durability, and I am excited to see how transformative the new urban highway and active travel linkages will be for the community.”
Aonghus O’Keeffe, director at ROD and project manager for the design team, said: “I congratulate all those involved in the successful delivery of the scheme, including BAM Farrans and their supply chain, Norfolk County Council, National Highways, and our design partners at H&H and Lanpro. We enjoyed the collaborative and dynamic culture within the project team, from tender stage in 2018 through planning, detailed design, and construction.”
