ICE - Fore Gill Bridge rebuild: a sustainable approach to renewing ageing rural infrastructure

This webinar presents the Smeaton Award-winning Fore Gill Bridge Rebuild Scheme, a complex heritage project involving the reconstruction of a historic masonry arch bridge within the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

The scheme was initiated by the New Year’s Eve 2023 partial collapse of the approach retaining wall, which required the project team to manage immediate safety risks, maintain access for the local community and respond to the unexpected discovery of hidden masonry arches within the existing structure.

The session will follow the project from initial emergency response and temporary access through to demolition, design and construction of the replacement structure. It will discuss how a dedicated in-house team of engineers, working closely with the Principal Contractor, responded to complex delivery constraints while maintaining programme, safety and access for the local community.

The webinar will examine the engineering decisions behind the replacement structure, including the design of a traditional unreinforced masonry arch and modern soil-reinforced retaining walls. It will discuss how recovered masonry was reused to preserve the bridge’s historic character and how excess materials were assessed, processed and reused as engineered fill.

Delivered as a project case study, the webinar will share practical lessons on heritage-sensitive engineering at pace, as well as considering the wider pressures facing the UK’s ageing infrastructure and provide examples of how sustainable material reuse, collaborative delivery, industry and academic involvement and stakeholder engagement can help address these challenges.