Infinity is the talk of the town

Oct 14 2009 by Sue Scott, Evening Gazette

STOCKTON’S Infinity Bridge has beaten 100 global construction projects to win the Supreme Award for Structural Engineering Excellence from the Institution of Structural Engineers.

The footbridge, opened in May at a cost of £15m, also won the award for Pedestrian Bridges.

Spanning 180m across the River Tees in two flowing steel arches made from Corus steel, it was described by judges as having set a “new standard for adventurous and structurally dramatic pedestrian footbridge design”, and they congratulated award winners, London-based Expedition Engineering and the construction team for their “vision and perseverance, without which it would have been impossible to meet the challenges of completing this extraordinary structure”.

The project was described as “a bold and daring design which demonstrates what can be done with artistic flair, technical excellence, complex analysis and excellent engineering teamwork”.

The judges concluded: “This bridge will be one of those iconic designs to be talked about for years.”

Projects from across Europe, North America, Canada, Africa and Asia received awards at the ceremony held in London where infinity beat off the Richmond Olympic Oval Roof in Canada, Mapungubwe National Park Interpretive Centre, South Africa and Te Puni Village, New Zealand alongside some of the UK’s biggest projects this year including The Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum and the Serpentine Gallery Summer Pavilion in London, to win the top award.

Expedition Engineering said it was not only delighted to win but “hugely proud that the work of our experimental practice has been honoured in this way”, and it thanked Stockton Council for the “opportunity and the money” to get the bridge built.

Among the 18 firms involved in the project, three were local - Cleveland Bridge, Black and Veatch and Balfour Beatty.

The award was the third in short order for the bridge, having previously won the North East Constructing Excellence Awards ‘Project of the Year’ and ICE Robert Stephenson Award 2009.