Another segment dropped in place

Gem Bridge, I’m happy to say, is progressing brilliantly! I had the opportunity to visit the site, and take some photos. I wasn’t allowed right down into the valley at the time, as they were still securing a segment of the bridge that had been lifted in place just a while before I took the pictures.

Interestingly, apparently the crane used to lift the segments can lift hundreds of tons, but came within three tons of its lifting limit. The photos really don’t do the project justice, and they certainly don’t convey the scale, but at least they show you what progress has been made. Amongst other things, the crew working here faced the real risk that the crane could be blown over by high winds while in the midst of lifting a bridge segment in place, but they continued. We are seriously lucky to have this built, and yet again I need to congratulate the team from Devon County Council for their vision and their determination.

I spoke to the project manager, who told me they believe they were still on track for completing Gem Bridge by January 2012. Additionally, they believe that there is a realistic time scale for completing the section of new cycle path through Grenofen tunnel, and over Ashmill bridge, by around May 2012!

Gem Bridge itself is a slight downhill, with one side being higher than the other. Obviously no work has started on the actual bridge surface yet, but that isn’t too far off in the distance.

As ever, click on any picture to see a larger version.

PS: To those anoraks criticising my earlier pictures, yes, I took these pictures myself, and no, I wasn’t trespassing, but had permission. 🙂

2 thoughts on “Another segment dropped in place”

  1. Hi Will,

    Have you seen any plans of what's going to happen to the cycle trail after it emerges from the tunnel on the Tavistock side? The old railway line only extends for a short distance before it's obliterated under a housing estate. After that the line continues through Whitchurch but is very fragmented by houses and gardens.

    Reply
  2. No, sadly I've no idea exactly where it will go. It'd be brilliant if somehow it managed to mostly follow the old track bed, as Whitchurch Road isn't exactly the most pleasant to cycle.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to WillCycle Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.