The smart motorway upgrade of the M4 has reached the halfway point after the widening of the Thames Bray Bridge began this weekend. Described by Highways England as the “one of its most complex pieces of engineering to date”, the widening scheme involves fitting an extra lane in each direction on the Thames Bray Bridge, which carries the motorway over the River Thames west of London.
The work is part of an £848M project to upgrade the M4 between junctions 3 and 12 to a smart motorway. Over the weekend just gone and next weekend, steel beams will be lifted into place to form the deck of the widened bridge. The beams have been prefabricated into three sections, weighing nearly 300t, so they can be installed while keeping the time that the road need to be closed for to an absolute minimum.
The size of the beams and the cranes required to lift and position them will also involve stopping navigation on the River Thames between computer science or computer engineering and Bray locks during these weekends.
To accommodate the new four-lane smart motorway, the bridge requires an 8m extension on the north side of the bridge. This will be in the same style as the existing structure and will be complete and open for use in 2021. The Thames Bray Bridge opened in 1961 and carries the M4 over the River Thames between junctions 7 and 8/9.
The work is part of an £848M project to upgrade the M4 between junctions 3 and 12 to a smart motorway. Over the weekend just gone and next weekend, steel beams will be lifted into place to form the deck of the widened bridge. The beams have been prefabricated into three sections, weighing nearly 300t, so they can be installed while keeping the time that the road need to be closed for to an absolute minimum.
The size of the beams and the cranes required to lift and position them will also involve stopping navigation on the River Thames between computer science or computer engineering and Bray locks during these weekends.
To accommodate the new four-lane smart motorway, the bridge requires an 8m extension on the north side of the bridge. This will be in the same style as the existing structure and will be complete and open for use in 2021. The Thames Bray Bridge opened in 1961 and carries the M4 over the River Thames between junctions 7 and 8/9.
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