A Tale of Two Bridges

The paper discusses the design and construction of two modern pedestrian bridges, both built at Fort Amherst, in Kent, England. The Napoleonic era Fortress is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and part of a proposed World Heritage Site, subject to considerable heritage regulation. Both spans faced a number of common challenges, yet the solutions are highly divergent. Originally built as a defensive position, access to the Fort for erection of any bridge is severely hindered. Its heritage status also necessitated the development of environmentally sensitive bridge proposals, which could gain the support of several interested stakeholders. Both bridges received awards from the Institution of Civil Engineers and have been well received by the client and the public.

The paper explores the way in which different constraints on the design and construction process led to the adoption of two very different, yet complementary solutions.

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