New Horsham bridge: ‘An impressive piece of civil engineering’

The bridge spans two carriageways of the A264 by its junction with Rusper Road and will link the new Mowbray Village currently under construction with the rest of Horsham.

Landowners Legal & General say the bridge is expected to be ready for public use by April.

Andrew McPhillips, development director of Legal and General strategic land and major projects, said: “The design and installation of the bridge itself is a really impressive piece of civil engineering.

“The bridge is 255m long in total, and spans 55m between its two main supporting piers.

“Due to the sheer scale of the bridge, it was manufactured in four sections which were then bolted together on site.

“A 500 ft crane was used to install the main span of the bridge and two 300 ft cranes will be used to install the north and south landing of the bridge.

“Steel has been used to manufacture the bridge and this creates several advantages.

“Using steel has reduced the weight of the bridge and means smaller foundations are required.

“In turn, this means the road closures needed to install such a significant piece of infrastructure have been reduced from what would have been required if the bridge had been built of concrete.

“We are working throughout March to complete the installation of the bridge as quickly as practicably possible and anticipate it will be ready for public use in April.”

Land north of Horsham: All you need to know

Mowbray Village will eventually have 2,750 new homes, new business premises, new sports hub, community centre an library.

Horsham’s newest purpose-built school - Bohunt Horsham - opened at Mowbray in January.

The new bridge is being built to provide a safe crossing for children and pedestrians going to and from the school from south of the town.

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