March 2012 saw MJ Finnigan Ltd complete the demolition and dismantling of a disused reinforced concrete footbridge in Altrincham City Centre in Manchester, the stunning footage of which is captured in the above video link.
The bridge, which had been closed to the public since 1988, spanned from the train station platform all the way to Stamford Retail Quarter. This meant there were restrictive boundaries faced by the live train lines, a live bus station, taxi ranks, the public footpath and highway, and also the Stamford Quarter, a large retail outlet.
The structure was taken down and removed over a period of two consecutive weekends by demolition contractors, MJ Finnigan Ltd, who were awarded the contract by the client TFGM (Transport For Greater Manchester), following an extremely competitive tendering process.
The complex works started at 00.01am on Sunday the 13th of May, when MJ Finnigan took possession of the site and shut down the entire town centre for the first for two 26 hour weekend possession periods.
A specific traffic management plan was put in place ahead of the works in line with Trafford Council Highways giving members of the public plenty of notice of the alternative routes and travel arrangements.
This also included for a letter drop to 450 local residents who were invited to a demolition open day at MJ Finnigan Ltd Head Office to discuss any concerns they may have with the project.
The programme of works included for the removal of street railings and furniture to facilitate the rigging of a 500 tonne Liebherr Crane which was berthed in the bus station and on the footpath in line with a stringent planning process and agreement from Network Rail.
The works included for the dismantling of an overhead steel tower which was lowered to the ground by a 40 tonne crane which then provided the access to remove the bridge spans.
Each span had previously had its weight calculated by MJ Finnigan Demolition Engineers. Operatives also separated each bridge span and freed the structure from any ties or fixings to ensure the lift was carried out as smoothly as possible.
There was a second 26 hour possession the following weekend where the final bridge span was removed under full Network Rail supervision and Isolation due to the close proximity to live rail line.
The works will involve close liaison and planning with a number of parties; Metrolink, The Bus Station, Trafford Highways (for road and footpath closures), Trafford Taxis and a number of retail units in the Stamford Quarter.
Each bridge section was removed off site for crushing and recycling of all demolition debris at MJ Finnigans dedicated recycling depot.
The works were successfully completed without any accidents or incidents, ahead of programme in roughly half of the total possession period time.
Speaking about the contract, Michael Finnigan, co director of the company said: “It’s an honour to be involved in such a high profile job and to work on a project of this scale, we have thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.”.
