Video footage of the dismantling and removal of the Tolgroggan accommodation bridge across the A30 has been released.
The dismantling of the 32-year-old bridge took place along with other work on the £330m Chiverton to Carland Cross dualling scheme, during a full weekend closure of the road.
Work by Keltbray to remove the 164-foot structure started at 9am on Saturday (16 September) with protective pile mats and platforms ‘strategically’ placed across the road surface and protection in place for the replacement bridge.
The new bridge, weighing 275 tonnes or ‘the equivalent weight of 23 double-decker buses or 887,097 standard Cornish pasties’, was installed by principal contractor Costain and its structures supply chain earlier this year.
National Highways said the old bridge weighed in excess of 300 tonnes, which Highways calculates to be close to a million pasties.
National Highways said the ‘high reach’ demolition process saw excavators meticulously and safely pick away the spans, parapets and steelwork.
The work was completed at midday on Sunday and the debris was cleared and removed and banking replaced before the road re-opened just before 2am on Monday morning.
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Over the same weekend, the A30 was realigned at the Chiverton interchange as work progresses on the new interchange flyover, while preparatory work continued at Marazanvose ahead of a forthcoming realignment to allow for work to continue on the scheme’s ‘green bridge’.
Senior project manager Neil Winter said: ‘The A30 closure enabled our contractors Costain and their teams to make real progress with a number of works at the weekend, we’re keeping all closures to a minimum and we’ll ensure we communicate well in advance any further closures later in the year.’
The new carriageway is scheduled to be opened at the end of winter 2023/2024.
The cost of developing the scheme is being partly funded by an £8m contribution from the European Regional Development Fund, with an additional £12m for the construction phase.
