Oxted Viaduct, Surrey, UK

Project Overview

The 140 year old Oxted railway viaduct in Surrey is constructed from wrought iron girders on brick piers and has spans comprising four parallel, diamond trusses supporting the bridge deck. A multi million-pound refurbishment project began in 2020 to refurbish the structure to maintain operating performance by lifting bridge spans, strengthening steel work, replacing 12 bearings, track monitoring and removal of the old timber deck and replacing with d² Dura Grating and Dura Profile. The work will keep passengers moving safely over the structure long into the future.

d² GRP enables quicker asset inspections and boosts safety without putting any undue stress on the substructure.

Contractor BAM Nuttall chose d² Dura Grating and Dura Profile for the replacement of the timber, creating a future-proof GRP solution that enhances safety and is quicker and easier to install.

Dura Composites in-house structural engineer supported the project team with FEA studies to ensure the proposed solution met the requirements of this historic refurbishment, and to date, over 600 sqm of Dura Composites standard mesh 38mm d² Grating has been installed on the viaduct.

The cleverly value-engineered grating features an anti-slip surface tested to 1 million footfalls and a patented design which allows for better visibility of the substructure below than any other 38mm grating on the market, meaning future asset inspections can take place at an accelerated pace.

The Dura Grating is supported by almost 2000 linear metres of d² Dura Profile – including the patented male and female Web Stiffener sections, Wide Flange Beam and Box sections which exceed the e23 grade specification of the BS
EN 13706 standard and offer unrivalled performance and a superior strength to weight ratio than any other GRP profiles on the market. Lightweight and easy to manoeuvre they are well suited to a project of this kind where they needed to be lifted to a high position well above street level. They are far lighter and easier to handle than the equivalent sections in steel and do not put undue stress on the existing viaduct structure.

Overhauling the viaduct was essential to the safe and efficient full speed running of the railway line. Like any structure of its age, it needs periodic maintenance and servicing to ensure passengers and freight can continue to move safely over it in the future. The work we have carried our using modern materials such as d² GRP Dura Grating and Dura Profile will ensure that the viaduct continues to welcome railway traffic well into the future, helping to maintain a good level of service with for the many passengers who use this route.

Marc Shergill

Agent, BAM Nutall

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