(Divisional Road Engineer, Ministry of Transport, Birmingham), after congratulating the Authors on producing an interesting and informative Paper about a structure which was by far the biggest and most important bridge on the M50 Motorway, said it was of interest to note that the line of the Ross Spur had been finally established for the greater part of its length on a line originally conceived in 1945. As a result of the public inquiry held in 1953, three relatively small variations had been made at the Herefordshire end, but they had been very localized and there had been no major departure from the original.70. In the section of the Paper dealing with basic requirements it was interesting to note the difficulties mentioned in 0 4 concerning extreme flood conditions. During the course of construction of the work, flooding in full measure had been the unhappy lot of the contractor throughout the work but particularly in the early stages. In addition to the flooding difficulty, the clear headroom of 44 ft below the summer level of the River Severn would have entailed a very considerable embankment across the flood plain of the river and there had been considerable doubt about the ground being capable of sustaining an embankment of such great height. On that ground also the long viaduct was fully justified. 71. The structure as a whole was a most elegant work and it was therefore all the more unfortunate that very few people would see it in elevation, because it was tucked away in a corner between Worcestershire and Gloucestershire access to which, while possible by public roads, was nevertheless not known to many people. The original proposal for the main river bridge, a very long time ago, had been for a lattice girder type of structure. He was very glad that that had been dropped in favour of the plate girder design finally built.72. Turning to the construction of the work, the photographs accompanying the Paper showed very well how the work had been done. It was probably true to say that having regard to the size of the job and the site difficulties due to flooding, weather and so on, the work had been carried out with no more than the normal number of headaches to contractors and consulting engineers. Mr Farr, who would speak later, would bear out that statement.73. Mr Jones directed attention especially to the very excellent pier shutter shown in Figs 10 and 11, which must have proved an excellent investment for the contractor, who with very little trouble had been able to use it to construct every one of the 44 piers of the viaduct, apart from the anchor piers at the ends of the main steel span. The facility of handling the shutter must have proved of the greatest value in *
For disclcssion at an Ordinary Meeting on Tuesday, 8 January, 1963, at 5.30 p.m., and for subsequent written discussion. SYNOPSISQueenhill Bridge, which carries the Ross Spur Motorway, M50, over the River Severn, has a total length of 2,466 ft between abutments. There are twentyseven spans, the largest of which measures 237 ft 6 in. The three main spans at the river are of steel construction, the approach spans on either side being of reinforced concrete.With the exception of the west abutment all foundations are formed of caissons which were sunk to a bed of Keuper marlstone.The Paper describes the design and construction of the bridge, together with some of the factors which governed the design. A description of the organization which was set up to control the work is included.
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