Bascule bridge wins award

THE bascule bridge on Regent Road won a restoration award last month, its owners announced today.

The 78-year-old bridge, or, according to Peel Holdings which owns it, “The Peel Bascule Bridge”, won a prize at the the Historic Bridges & Infrastructure Awards held on March 31.

The bridge, which spans the Leeds Liverpool Canal at Stanley Dock, was closed for inspection and repair in May 2008 and subsequently condemned due to natural corrosion. Peel and Liverpool Council’s Heritage and Highways departments worked to find a solution to safeguard this landmark - which sits on an important north-south link on the city's bounciest of shock-absorber-testing roads.

The bridge is the only surviving example of a rolling bascule lifting bridge in Liverpool and is an integral feature of the Stanley Dock Conservation Area and the World Heritage designation.

In addition to repairs and replacement of parts of the steel structure, the timber engine house on top of the bridge has been given a new natural slate roof and aluminium rainwater pipes making it a key feature of the overall design. The motorised equipment has been retained inside the engine room and the bridge has been painted in its original colours.

The bridge was officially re-opened to the public on 25th August 2010 by Liverpool City Council Leader Joe Anderson.

Ian Pollitt, development investment surveyor at Peel, said, “We are

delighted to have won this award. We have worked extremely hard to ensure the restoration works were in fitting with the heritage of the bridge and are delighted that this has been recognised.”

The Historic Bridge and Infrastructure Awards is like the Oscars, but for bridges.

Set up by County Surveyors Society, English Heritage and The Institution of Civil Engineers Panel for Historical Engineering Works to “recognise and encourage excellence and innovation in conservation”. Or, as they might say when the env

Nominations were invited for projects involving bridges, aqueducts, tunnels, and other transport-related structures such as retaining walls, locks, wharves and large station roofs, but excluding buildings. That's a whole world of serious stuff.

Or, as they might say when the winners' envelope is about to be torn open: "The suspension is killing us".