The Development of a Novel Over-Ramp System for the Replacement of Movement Joints.

The Queen Elizabeth II (QEII) Bridge carries the southbound traffic over the River Thames on the eastern side of the M25 Orbital Motorway around London. The bridge carries over 80,000 vehicles per day, and comprises a cable stayed bridge of 800m with adjoining approach viaducts of around 1km each. The bridge is just over 20 years old and work commenced in 2013 to progressively replace the six multi-element movement joints. Due to its strategic importance and political sensitivity if closed, lane and carriageway closures on the bridge are only practicable for brief night-time periods. To facilitate joint replacement a novel temporary over-ramp system was designed so that no restrictions were imposed on either daytime carriageway availability or traffic speed during the entire works. This paper describes the collaborative development of the ramping system from constraints and concept, through detailed design and testing, to installation and use.