Engineering against time: lifting Nuneham Viaduct

Nuneham Viaduct, Oxfordshire

Project Overview

Location	Oxfordshire
Sector	Propping & Jacking Monitoring
Products	Compact 200 Mass 50 Mass 25

When Nuneham Viaduct in Oxfordshire had to be closed due to structural deterioration to its 19th Century abutment, engineering teams were against the clock to get the railway back open. Temporary works were a critical part of the works, and we were tasked with supporting and lifting the bridge 650mm in the air, enabling the abutment to be demolishedand rebuilt.

The challenge

A critical and historic structure

Nuneham Viaduct carries passenger and freight services across the River Thames between Didcot and Oxford. Dating back to the 1900s, with elements from the 1840s, its age became apparent after monitoring revealed significant movement.

Failure and remediation works

Poor ground conditions and deterioration of the south bank abutment led to the viaduct’s closure in April 2023. The solution involved demolishing and rebuilding the abutment, supported by new deep steel piling driven into the river embankment.

Temporary works enabling the rebuild

Temporary works were essential to lift and support the bridge while the failed abutment was replaced. We were appointed to design, supply and install a propping and jacking system to enable the works safely and within tight constraints.

Our solution

Colin Campbell, Senior Engineer at Mabey Hire explained: “Working closely with Network Rail and Balfour Beatty engineering teams, we designed a bespoke propping and jacking scheme. The end solution had to allow us to span 20 metres off piles driven into the River Thames and have a jacking arrangement on top, enabling us to lift the 200-tonne bridge structure up by 650mm to its original level.”

The scheme was formed of our Mass 25 grillage beams connected together to form a 22m long truss with Mass 50 and Mass 25 vertical and diagonal components. On top of the two trusses, three jacking platforms were installed, using bespoke beams to enable a jack and pack operation.

Once in position and the bridge was successfully supported and lifted, Network Rail engineers were able to demolish the damaged abutment, removing around 3,000 cubic metres of material from the embankment to create space, and build the new abutment.

In addition to our temporary propping and jacking equipment, our monitoring expertise also proved invaluable on the project. As well as monitoring and measuring displacement at the centre pier, prisms were attached to both the bridge structure and the temporary works trusses to continually monitor displacement during the jacking process and the new pier construction.

Get in touch

“Mabey Hire were involved in every step of the temporary works, from the initial design to the implementation on site. Colin and the wider team are a credit to their industry and clearly are the leading experts in their field.”

Andrew Jones

Contractors Engineering Manager at Balfour Beatty Rail UK