Telford's new £10 million footbridge scoops engineering awards

The futuristic bridge opened in November 2018 and replaced one of Telford’s most famous landmarks – the red footbridge seen by hundreds of thousands of visitors to the town every year.

There is no name for the new bridge, which has been likened by some to a whale or a swallows tail, and any announcement on its title is not likely until an official opening ceremony takes place.

But earlier this week the glass-sided walkway, which links Telford Central Railway Station to Telford Shopping Centre, was given the overall winner’s prize at Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) West Midlands’ annual awards dinner.

The £10 million Telford Footbridge Project also won the team achievement and the medium project awards.

In reaching their decision the judges said it has been a complex engineering project, which spanned two dual carriageways and a busy mainline railway.

They also noted that the building works were phased to minimise disruption to road and rail users, while maintaining pedestrian access to the station.

The judges also agreed that the new bridge was an excellent example of stylish design-led engineering in a highly constrained environment.

The submission to the judging panel included a letter from a member of the public, which praised the new bridge, describing it as “absolutely stunning”, “a triumph of civil engineering” and a “masterpiece of contemporary design, architecture and construction”.

The bridge was a project delivered by Telford and Wrekin Council, Balfour Beatty and Jacobs UK.

David Wright, the council’s cabinet member for housing, transport and infrastructure said: “We are so proud of winning these awards and I feel they are just reward for the teams involved.

“They have worked incredibly hard to achieve this project and it clearly demonstrates how Telford & Wrekin Council strives to work collaboratively in every aspect.

“Thanks and congratulations to everyone involved with bringing such positive improvements to our town.”