Scheme to Upgrade Standedge Tunnel End Aqueduct Shortlisted in Prestigious Regional Award
A scheme to upgrade an iconic 19th century Grade II listed aqueduct in West Yorkshire has been shortlisted for a prestigious civil engineering award.
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) has announced Standedge Tunnel End Aqueduct Reconstruction, near Marsden in the Pennine Hills, has been shortlisted for recognition in its 2019 Yorkshire and Humber Awards.
Major work to upgrade Tunnel End Aqueduct, known as Standedge, with a new, more modern and reliable structure, was completed in December.
The structure carries water from March Haigh Reservoir via Tunnel End Reservoir, over the Trans Pennine Railway and into the nearby River Colne, and the upgrade reduces the maintenance need for future generations whilst helping enable the forthcoming Trans Pennine Route Upgrade.
Boasting an impressive history, the grade 2 listed structure, which spans the Manchester to Huddersfield Trans Pennine railway line (MVL3), was constructed in 1894.
Requiring a number of interventions over the years, AmcoGiffen was contracted by Network Rail to design and replace the ‘life-expired’ wrought iron aqueduct deck spanning the existing railway infrastructure, along with modifications and repairs to the stone buttresses, parapets and spillway.
Alongside modernising and improving the grade 2 listed structure, the scheme also utilised Fibre Reinforced Polymer material for an innovative design solution for the new ‘twin decks’ that not only provided reduced future maintenance, but also brought significant installation benefits which come with the relatively lightweight construction.
AmcoGiffen’s Senior Contracts Manager, Chris Pennock, said: “The scheme was a logistically challenging project in an environmentally sensitive area, with severely restricted access adjacent to the Huddersfield Narrow canal, the River Colne, the Trans Pennine Rail Route and numerous other listed structures.
“With the threat of flooding always present from the March Haigh Reservoir, the AmcoGiffen and Network Rail project team worked tirelessly and with great care to successfully deliver. We are delighted that such a unique civil engineering project has been shortlisted.”
The project is one of five projects from across the region to be shortlisted for the Smeaton Award, alongside Runswick Bay Coastal Protection Scheme and Knostrop Footbridge.
The awards are held annually to showcase the outstanding work done during the past year by civil engineers in the Yorkshire and Humber Region. They are divided into three categories; projects with a cost in excess of £5m will compete for the Centenary Award, those under £5m can apply for the Smeaton Award, and those concerned with studies and research can compete for the Sir John Fowler Award.
In 2018 the Smeaton Award was won by the Tadcaster Bridge emergency works.
This year’s winners will be revealed at the ICE’s annual black-tie gala dinner at Sheffield City Hall on March 15.
Penny Marshall, the ICE’s regional director for Yorkshire and Humber said: “The standards of entries we have seen this year is exceptionally high and the judges now have a very difficult task ahead of them.
“There are thousands of civil engineers in Yorkshire and Humber that work tirelessly to design, improve and maintain the infrastructure that we rely on, and these awards are a great opportunity to highlight the positive impact their work has on our lives.”
