Agenda item

The Committee will receive a briefing on the maintenance of bridge structures within the Borough. (Briefing note attached)

The Committee received a briefing note on the maintenance of bridge structures in Havering.  The Committee noted that there were 150 highway structures in the borough, of which the majority were owned by, and the responsibility of, the Council.  These structures were bridges (including footbridges), subways, culverts and retaining walls.  In the case of bridges associated with Trunk Roads (A12, A127 and A13) and Motorways (M25) these were owned and maintained by the Highways Agency.

Railway bridges were generally owned by the company that they serve i.e. either Network Rail or London Underground, however in the case of “road over rail” bridges, the Borough had the responsibility to maintain the footway and carriageway surfaces.  Examples of these around the borough were discussed.

The officer stated that more effort had been made in the last few years to maintain bridge structures in the borough.  All structure for which the Council were responsible for, were visually inspected every two years (General Inspection) to assess their overall condition, and once every six years a more detailed survey is undertaken (Principal Inspection) which involved the inspector actually being close enough to touch all visible areas of the structure and tests were carried out to accurately determine the condition of each structure.

Reports were compiled following inspections which indicated the condition of all elements of the structure, identified any defects and recommended any necessary remedial works together with providing an estimate of the cost involved.  Those reports would then be used to prioritise subsequent works.  Where it was possible to make minor repairs to rectify the situation, these were carried out.  However, where more extensive repairs may be necessary, structures would need to be assessed to confirm their load carrying capabilities and if necessary, restrictions were put in place to avoid further damage.  This was necessary for the “road over rail” bridge in Victoria Road/ Heath Park Road, where a width restriction was put in to restrict the load capacity; however this also included the re?routing of buses and consultation with the railway companies.

Applications for Assessment funding were made to TfL via the London Bridge Engineering Group (LoBEG) bidding process.  The officer stated that funding for major repairs were made this way; however the bidding was up against all other London Boroughs.  The estimated bids for the coming years were:

Members asked if there were specific officers who dealt with the bridge maintenance.  The officer stated that there was one specialist engineer for bridge structures.  He monitored the bridges, but there was also a sub?contractor, Jacobs, who also carried out inspection and maintenance.  The findings from Jacobs fed into the LoBEG which assisted with the estimated bids each year.  Any immediate action/ major repairs could be carried out, as there was a small budget available for emergency repairs.

The Committee discussed the various bridge structures in the borough, with the officer outlining the different areas where bridges were in the pipeline for repair.