Novel Railway Bridge Strengthening System

Balfour Beatty Rail and 2EI Ltd have teamed up with LimitState to develop a novel masonry arch bridge strengthening system, XiSPAN, for underline railway arch bridges.

The system involves injecting polymer into railway ballast to create a strong, stiff raft which reduces the stresses experienced by an underlying masonry arch bridge. It is designed to provide a rapid and cost-effective alternative to conventional strengthening systems (e.g. those involving saddling, under-ringing or reinforcing the arch barrel using metallic elements).

Further details are provided in a recent Engineering News Record article.