Herefordshire Council has scooped two major awards for its restoration work to Hereford’s historic Victoria Bridge, including being named as the best civil engineering project in the West Midlands for 2007.
Restoration of the Victorian footbridge which spans the River Wye won the main project accolade at the annual awards of the Institution of Civil Engineers West Midlands in a ceremony at Millennium Point, Birmingham, on Thursday, May 17 2007.
The project was also named Heritage Award winner and the project team won an additional award for the best presentation and display at the ceremony.
Councillor Brian Wilcox, the councillor responsible for implementing the scheme, said: “I am delighted Victoria Bridge has won not only one, but two, awards and the project team won the best presentation award.
“I would like to thank all of the people involved in the project for their work in ensuring the restoration of this key pedestrian and cycle route has been carried out to such high standards,” he added.
Awards were given for projects completed in 2006 and recognize work that demonstrates excellence in concept, planning, design and construction
Grade II listed, Victoria Bridge was built in 1898 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and, when opened, it was described as “artistic in design, elegant in form, light in construction and beautiful in effect”.
Restoration work included removal of rust and paint, steelwork repairs, strengthening, re-painting, footway replacement and timber matching the original, and restoration of decorative features.
The awards’ event took the form of a display and presentation of the project on the day and a written submission in advance to allow the judges the opportunity to visit the site and view the project.
Martin Jackson, the Bridgeworks’ Team Leader, managed the works, carried out from May until September 2006. Owen Williams, part of Amey plc, was designer and site supervisor and the principal contractor was Interserve.
The project was delivered within the budget and programme and to demanding design and construction constraints imposed by the Environment Agency, Natural England and the bridge’s Grade II listing.
Judges praised the footbridge as “a nice looking project, oozing quality” and were particularly impressed with the use of historians to advise on the restoration scheme, the retention of original features such as the coat of arms and the benefits to the community and tourism.
ICE president Quentin Leiper was so impressed with the Victoria Bridge scheme that he gave the project team one of his own Presidential awards together with a bottle of champagne.