Shortlisted at the Structural Awards 2023, FLOW Bridge is Network Rail’s innovative modular composite fibre-reinforced polymer footbridge, developed as a standard design to be used nationally and conceived to improve the safety of level-crossings throughout the UK railway network. The eye-catching design is considerably cheaper and lighter than a conventional steel bridge equivalent, and lower in carbon footprint.
Among its most defining features, the bridge has a modular deck and a supporting spine, which act compositely via an innovative ‘gravity clamp’ mechanism and shear lugs, and a special layout that removes the typical 90-degree corner at the top of the stairs, providing users with greater visibility of the onward route.
The engineers behind this prototype’s design will discuss the challenges encountered and how they were overcome, before delving into considerations on modular design using composite materials.
Designing, fabricating and constructing the FLOW bridge