Carillion accepts award for London Bridge project

Carillion collected an award of excellence for a project which was completed more than 30 years ago by recently acquired civil engineering and construction company John Mowlem.

Carillion, which acquired Mowlem in February last year, received the Certificate of Excellence award for outstanding merit in the use of concrete, in the Mature Structures Category for Mowlem's London Bridge project at the Concrete Society Awards held recently.

The new London Bridge, was completed in 1973 replacing John Rennie's granite bridge of 1831 which was too narrow to cope with growing vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

The architect was Sir William Holford, the civil engineer Mott, Hay and Anderson and the contractor was John Mowlem.

The challenge was to replace Rennie's bridge with a new bridge, which was technically state-of-the-art, was in keeping with its surroundings and would meet the functional demands of the 20th century and beyond.

Commenting on the project, the judges said: "The designers selected concrete for its low- maintenance characteristics and visual sympathy to its surroundings".

"Thirty-four years later, the bridge is a testament to both careful design and construction".

"The exposed concrete of the box units is in excellent condition, particularly the lightly sand-blasted side elevations".

"There is no sign of distress at the stitch joints, which is something of an achievement for in-situ work".

"The pre-stressing system is performing well and some years ago the bridge passed the assessment for the 44-tonne vehicle with flying colours".

"It was well executed, innovative for its time, has stood up well and is still handsome".

Managing Director of Carillion Regional Civil Engineering, Peter Clay said: "I'm delighted that the work on the London Bridge has not only stood the test of time but has been acknowledged by such a respected independent body.

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