To kick start the multi-million pound transformation of Abbey Road area in Kilburn, London a disused footbridge over the West Coast mainline needed to be removed. The 34m single span, steel truss bridge provided access between a local housing estate and a multi-story car park. However, since its construction, the car park had become a make-shift office development rendering the pedestrian bridge obsolete.

The first stage of Camden Councils Community Investment Programme, aimed at creating new homes and community areas, required the demolition of the car park resulting in the primary need to remove the attached truss bridge.

The underlying West Coast mainline and car park prevented direct access from the Northern abutment which necessitated an engineering critical solution. Access from the rail line was prohibited to allow the deconstruction of the truss frame in-situ and the narrow embankments resulted in only one viable solution. Utilising a Liebherr LG1550 crane located in the car park of the adjacent housing estate the bridge was to be lifted in its entirety off its supports and landed within the estate where it could then be safely dismantled.

PaSCoE were commissioned to design all aspects of the bridge lift based on the client’s knowledge of our vast experience in working within acute time frames, unusual conditions and critical risk management. The hazards involved with the lifting operation, considering the consequences of damage to the rail and residential structures, could have all proven catastrophic if the design had not been managed properly.

The lift was completed over a Christmas possession and was hailed by both Camden Council and the Kilburn Times as the start of a new era for the Abbey Road estate.