How Do You Move A 52,000 Ton Motorway Bridge? Glasgow's Kingston Bridge & M8 Motorway

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  • čas přidán 17. 10. 2023
  • #glasgow #scotland #infrastructure #bridge
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    The M8 motorway passes through the centre of Glasgow and when it comes to crossing the River Clyde, the Kingston bridge provides the solution. However, it nearly didn't and at one point was on the verge of collapse. It turns out they didn't do a good job of building it, or predicting the traffic levels.
    A 10 year bridge repair project ensued but of course, how do you fix such a structure and how do you move it out the way in order to do so?
  • Auta a dopravní prostředky

Komentáře • 326

  • @Kenny.W.Wallace
    @Kenny.W.Wallace Před 7 měsíci +201

    This is surreal. I actually worked on this bridge back in the 90's. I remember going through the original engineers City Ring Road drawings in the office out of curiosity. The reason traffic loads were so great was due to the Kingston Bridge originally being designed as part of a City Ring Road system, which was never completed. It was intended for the Kingston Bridge to have twin on the East side of the city with a motorway on the south side that mirrored the section on the north side that would allow drivers to skip round the outside of city, as opposed to all traffic being forced through the narrow section of urban motorway and over the bridge. You can actually see where the southern section of the ring road would have joined the Bridge as there are two sections of bridge deck that come to a dead end in mid air. There are actually quite a few sections of Urban M8 that were built with the intention of creating more on/off slip roads, which can still be seen here and there. Eventually the M74 extension was built to link the M74 from Ballieston Interchange to the M8 at the south end of the Bridge to compensate. This extension diverted unwanted traffic away from the city centre and bridge, unwanted being traffic that was forced to travel through the city that wasn't destined for the city. Overall it's a great example of the Jevons Paradox.

    • @PaperCameraFilms
      @PaperCameraFilms Před 7 měsíci +10

      I think, and I'm happy to be corrected, that north bound traffic used to be able to exit the bridge at Anderston. This was very handy although I think you had to get in lane pretty quickly. You probably had to endure a few hand gestures as you slew across lanes to get into the correct lane in time. During the remedial work and lane restrictions this was removed and never reinstated meaning that all city bound traffic was and still is forced along Bothwell Street or maybe it was only possible temporarily during the road works. All of that said you'd be aff yer heed as we locals say to try and cross the Kingston Bridge or drive in the city these days.

    • @benknight77
      @benknight77 Před 7 měsíci +17

      I read that in my head in the style of John.

    • @cypher686
      @cypher686 Před 7 měsíci +7

      Omg I was on that job too!!

    • @Kenny.W.Wallace
      @Kenny.W.Wallace Před 7 měsíci +10

      @@PaperCameraFilms Yes, this caused a tremendous amount of congestion to build up and needed to be eliminated, so the barrier was erected. From an engineers perspective: Free flowing traffic at the speed limit generates plenty of space between vehicles due to increased braking distance. With all the weaving to get to different exits taking place traffic came to a standstill. This meant the traffic bunched up nose to tail in all lanes resulting in a staggering increase in the load the bridge had to carry. Restricting lane changing significantly reduced the load. That said the Jevons Paradox is in full swing, so any such changes are always only temporary relief.

    • @CoolSteve08
      @CoolSteve08 Před 7 měsíci +3

      ​@@Kenny.W.Wallaceand now the Greens want to reduce the speed to 30mph, and due to the Woodside Viaduct works the Kingston Bridge bunches up at rush hour, mostly northbound, but Southbound bunches up leaving towards the M74.

  • @rwm2986
    @rwm2986 Před 7 měsíci +182

    Thanks John. What a splendid technical term - the structure was buggered!

    • @alangknowles
      @alangknowles Před 7 měsíci +14

      ​@@judsonsimzer1463As a civil engineer, I can confirm it's only one step down from F'in Buggered.

    • @rwm2986
      @rwm2986 Před 7 měsíci +9

      I am also an engineer and for economy of words it can't be beaten!

    • @TedJM
      @TedJM Před 7 měsíci +1

      @@alangknowles then "Busted" is the term for something beyond "F'in Buggered"

    • @richardvoogd705
      @richardvoogd705 Před 7 měsíci +1

      A stronger version of something like Situation Normal, All Fouled Up perhaps. 😮

    • @chrisshelley3027
      @chrisshelley3027 Před 7 měsíci +2

      In more polite company Bastard Buggered can be safely used, Jacking Up however needs more careful use.

  • @GMac2776
    @GMac2776 Před 7 měsíci +16

    My mate is a civil engineer for Glasgow City Council. He told me that the engineer in charge of this was on all sorts of tablets for stress. He said this had never been done before and they had to have a special software written to fire the Jack's but the jacks all had to fire at precisely the right time or the bridge could warp, and that would be the bridge knackered. Also the Jack's were not designed to hold anything for that length of time all a bit of an unknown.
    On the day it was lifted there was engineers from all over the world as it had never been done before.
    The guy became something of a celebrity in engineering circles and a leading authority on this type of thing.

  • @Ayrshore
    @Ayrshore Před 7 měsíci +11

    "If something does go wrong, we're going to know about it well in advance of any serious danger":- Stockton Rush, 2023

  • @AFCManUk
    @AFCManUk Před 7 měsíci +4

    "The problem was, the structure was buggered"
    Sums it up perfectly, with a neat little bow on top 😁😁😁

    • @papalaz4444244
      @papalaz4444244 Před 7 měsíci

      "Aye, we hud a look and it's basically f**ked, mate."

  • @kirriereoch
    @kirriereoch Před 7 měsíci +80

    Thanks for this video. My grandfather was a structural civil engineer until he retired in the late 1980s when he was head engineer at Burmah Oil in Glasgow. He wrote to those directly involved in the bridge´s construction at the time the Kingston Bridge was being built and also sent this letter to Glasgow City Council and several Scottish newspapers at the same time. He told me that at least one newspaper published his letter.
    In the letter he pointed out, and predicted, exactly what your video states as the problems with the bridge and the consequences in 30 years hence (ie the 1990s). The fact that his letter and statements, via his engineering connections, were ignored always frustrated him and he felt double frustrated when his predictions were fully vindicated in the 1990s. He occasionally mentioned this until his death in 2019 at the splendid old age of 98.
    I still picture him shaking his fist from heaven every time I drive over the Kingston Bridge.

    • @stepheneyles2198
      @stepheneyles2198 Před 7 měsíci +5

      That's a very interesting and heart-stopping story. May your grandfather rest in peace now that they've sorted it out - hopefully for good this time!

    • @john1703
      @john1703 Před 7 měsíci +3

      'A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and in his own household.' Mark 6:4.

    • @sglenny001
      @sglenny001 Před 6 měsíci +1

      How did Britain have optimism that lasted so long then after 2008 it's all "we can't afford it"

    • @stuarttownson5055
      @stuarttownson5055 Před 6 měsíci +1

      Until I see the letter I call BS

  • @ghanthor
    @ghanthor Před 7 měsíci +2

    After getting buggered, I'm glad it was given the support it needed.

  • @martyboy700
    @martyboy700 Před 7 měsíci +4

    If I could add an extra like for the use of the High Road theme I would.

  • @Ayrshore
    @Ayrshore Před 7 měsíci +8

    I have been trying to find the front page of the Daily Record/Sunday Mail for years where they had an artist's impression of it collapsing while full of traffic, complete with HGVs and buses falling into the river Clyde. I'm starting to think I imagined it al..

    • @david1731048
      @david1731048 Před 7 měsíci +4

      Same! I have always remembered that front page since childhood and haven't found it anywhere. We can't both be wrong, it must've been real!

    • @leopoldbluesky
      @leopoldbluesky Před 7 měsíci +3

      That I'd like to see (the artist's impression, not an actual bridge collapse).

    • @TheGiff7
      @TheGiff7 Před 7 měsíci +3

      Give the Record’s archives a call. Central Library may have a copy as well.

    • @leethomasscott
      @leethomasscott Před 3 měsíci

      czcams.com/video/UktyNHAK1zc/video.htmlsi=Kvj1I5Z6wE6-grd8
      Time code 1:35 :)

    • @punkykenickie2408
      @punkykenickie2408 Před 3 měsíci

      I remember that one too!

  • @AndyHullMcPenguin
    @AndyHullMcPenguin Před 7 měsíci +37

    "How Do You Move A 52,000 Ton Motorway Bridge?" Very, very, very carefully as I recall. I was in one of the "over a hundred and sixty thousand vehicles a day" that used it while it was in the process of being moved. There was a slight nagging voice in the back of my head each time I did so that questioned whether today might be the day when we all went for a swim, but it never happened. Quite a feat of engineering as you said.
    While we are on the subject of the M8, the River Clyde, and its related bridges, the nearby Erskine bridge was closed around the 5th August 1996 for a period after someone accidentally rammed it with an Oil rig. That bridge didn't fall down either. It seems we Scots build some pretty strong bridges. Well apart from the original Tay rail bridge of course, but that's a whole 'nother story.

    • @f0rth3l0v30fchr15t
      @f0rth3l0v30fchr15t Před 7 měsíci

      Worth pointing out that the central griders would not have given way, at least many sensible men do say, had they been supported on each side with buttresses, at least many sensible men confesses, for the stringer we our houses do build, the less chance we have of being killed.

    • @dxg999
      @dxg999 Před 7 měsíci +2

      And it really was a proper dip in the middle. I remember it well.

    • @kieranbeecroft8414
      @kieranbeecroft8414 Před 7 měsíci +1

      and the original Tay Bridge was built by an Englishman...

    • @johnmg88
      @johnmg88 Před 7 měsíci

      ​@@kieranbeecroft8414 and he was in the running for the forth bridge too....

    • @robertkeddie
      @robertkeddie Před 7 měsíci

      @@kieranbeecroft8414 His name was Thomas Bouch, which I believe is the origin of the phrase "botched job".

  • @dough740
    @dough740 Před 7 měsíci +6

    Next bridge investigation for you - Thelwall Viaduct on the M6. They found a perished bearing on an original support and closed the entire carriageway within 12 hours. They had to replace every bearing, then on discovering they had put the wrong ones in, had to do it again. Can't remember how long the bridge was shut - 18 months?

    • @abarratt8869
      @abarratt8869 Před 7 měsíci +3

      The wrong ones?! Good grief...
      They close some part of the elevated section of the M4 immediately, some years ago, because it developed a crack. Was that just before the Olympics? I remember there was talk about how this was going to cause tremendous transport problems getting athletes from the West of London to Stratford (turned out that other routes are available...).

    • @cjmillsnun
      @cjmillsnun Před 7 měsíci

      @@abarratt8869 You're thinking of the Hammersmith flyover on the A4. It was shut in December 2011 reopened in January 2012 to a single lane of light traffic in each direction whilst repairs were made to the worst bit before the Olympics then afterwards the rest was done.

  • @martindooley4439
    @martindooley4439 Před 7 měsíci +6

    I worked on that jacking project. There were three jacking systems the 128 B Jacks did the vertical lifting but it also had Jack's to control the left right stability and a third system to position the deck centrally between the piers.

  • @GPaint
    @GPaint Před 7 měsíci +45

    Coincidentally a similar situation now being employed just along from this where the Woodside viaducts carry both sides of the M8 north of Glasgow City Centre - the problem there being the joints at the top of the supports failing. So they are currently having temporary supports built at either side of each set of pillars before being jacked up for replacement - the main difference being that there are about 20 sets of pillars!

    • @shetlandsheep3081
      @shetlandsheep3081 Před 7 měsíci +2

      That’s fascinating as I’m at Glasgow School of Art doing postgrad and I look out at that situation and wondered what was going on….now I know!

    • @CoolSteve08
      @CoolSteve08 Před 7 měsíci +2

      And it would have been finished (and done cheaper) by now if they'd had new steel spans made like with the new M74-M8 link!
      They could just have closed the motorway (one or both ways), demolished the old spans, removed the old supporting structures, rebuilt new supporting structures in the same place (thus avoiding all the underground services they're currently complaining about), and then put the new spans on top.

    • @craigmcdougall3693
      @craigmcdougall3693 Před 7 měsíci +5

      @CoolSteve08 I'm guessing you're not an engineer so that's probably not sarcasm.

    • @20chocsaday
      @20chocsaday Před 7 měsíci

      There used to be a picture of this new marvel of engineering in Paisley college of technology.
      When the bridge was freshly built.

    • @David8n
      @David8n Před 6 měsíci +1

      I had a tour of this site recently; it's fascinating. The deck of the viaduct is in perfect condition but the tops of the piers (the pillars) are in a shocking state, it's not just the bearings. It looked to me like the drainage was badly designed and the tops of the piers have corroded and spalled terribly. It's going to be a really complex (and expensive) job to sort it.
      In my opinion they should just demolish the viaduct and put the motorway on the ground. There's nothing under the viaduct of great value. They can move the Chinese supermarket to a better spot quite easily 😊

  • @glenjones6980
    @glenjones6980 Před 7 měsíci

    Wowsers. Opened up with a transporter just 10 seconds in. I feel spoiled and humbled Mr J.

  • @donalddodson7365
    @donalddodson7365 Před 7 měsíci +9

    Thanks, Jon. In California (USA) the Department of Transportation (CalTrans) has become quite good at retrofitting bridges while minimizing closures, and repairing earthquake damaged highways with minimal disruption. Nice story. Well done.

    • @AutoShenanigans
      @AutoShenanigans  Před 6 měsíci +3

      You mean it doesn't take you guys weeks on end just to put out a few traffic cones!? Jealous!

  • @samuelspink2489
    @samuelspink2489 Před 7 měsíci

    The seagull voiceover was a surprisingly welcome addition to another superb video

  • @thesloaneranger1
    @thesloaneranger1 Před 7 měsíci +21

    I used to work underneath the bridge, and when the deck was being lifted, the gossip was all about how many bodies would be found underneath the supports! There was an urban myth that several underworld-characters ended up in the concrete support pillars, but alas none were found during the works.

    • @geecars6263
      @geecars6263 Před 7 měsíci +12

      Yeah, most are out on the Fenwick moors, no doubt to be discovered in 2000 years when archaeologists will identify them as victims of ritual sacrifice 😂

    • @fredyellowsnow7492
      @fredyellowsnow7492 Před 7 měsíci +5

      @@geecars6263 No doubt those archeologists will wonder about the knee-capping the skeletons display.

    • @geecars6263
      @geecars6263 Před 7 měsíci

      @@fredyellowsnow7492 And why many appear to have been shot up the a*se 😬

    • @kieranbeecroft8414
      @kieranbeecroft8414 Před 7 měsíci

      @@fredyellowsnow7492 an historical ritual to prevent the dead chasing us if they ever rose up!

    • @thesloaneranger1
      @thesloaneranger1 Před 7 měsíci +1

      @@geecars6263 I think one was found up there a few years back..... well a few bits, but not the whole body :/

  • @jennyd255
    @jennyd255 Před 7 měsíci +25

    Back in the day when I was an engineer (of sorts) I had a friend who worked for Cleveland Bridge, a specialist bridge building contractors. He used to say that any old fool of an engineer could design a bridge that wouldn't fall down, the real skill lay in being able to design one that would only just stay up, and thus would be a lot cheaper to build. Thankfully our Scottish engineers seem to have had other ideas, and instead built this with some decent margins... otherwise there could have been a lot of extra scrap metal suddenly landing in the Clyde. Worryingly I drove across the Morandi suspension bridge in Genoa, in a rainstorm, just a week before that one collapsed. I think my guardian angel was doing overtime that week!

    • @alanbrown5593
      @alanbrown5593 Před 7 měsíci +5

      My grandfather was a civil and mining engineer who designed railway bridges.
      He said an engineer is someone who designs for sixpence what a fool knows should cost a shilling.

    • @Michael75579
      @Michael75579 Před 7 měsíci +6

      @@alanbrown5593 This may be true for most bridges, but one where it's definitely not is the Forth Rail Bridge. Construction started on it only a few years after the Tay Bridge collapse, so the engineers' priority was to make very, very sure that the same thing wouldn't happen again. This resulted in a massively over-engineered bridge; the rumour is that they looked at what the maximum wind speed in the area was likely to be, figured out how strong a bridge would need to be to withstand double that wind speed, then doubled that.

    • @20chocsaday
      @20chocsaday Před 7 měsíci

      ​@@Michael75579And takes to the maximum amount of paint.

  • @StephenWalker42
    @StephenWalker42 Před 7 měsíci +37

    As supporters of your Auto Shenanigans, we totally support your interesting video on bridge supports. Thanks John.

    • @donalddodson7365
      @donalddodson7365 Před 7 měsíci +5

      @StephenWalker42 As a fellow Shenanigans Supporter, I support your support support, since without support supporters there would be no motorway to shenaniganize any sideways slipping slip roads. 😂🤣🤠

    • @DougieL
      @DougieL Před 7 měsíci

      I support you by supporting the support given by the other supporter on the video about bridge-supports. @@donalddodson7365

  • @ADJLfanatic52
    @ADJLfanatic52 Před 7 měsíci +5

    At least the transport department in the UK actually replaces it. Minneapolis, Minnesota had an unfortunate event with I-35W's bridge, which one day on 1st August 2007, the entire structure collapsed into the Mississippi River during rush hour traffic. One of the gusset plates (the thing that connects girders to columns) gave way and killed 13 and injured 145. You can find video on CZcams of the collapse, too.
    EDIT: The Ohio Department of Transportation is actually replacing a fifty-year old bridge near me. What they do is a little different: ODOT builds completely new roadbeds, shuts down the old bride, and then rebuilds it.

    • @abarratt8869
      @abarratt8869 Před 7 měsíci +1

      Some relatives of mine drove over that bridge in Minneapolis the day before. Too close for comfort.
      I followed the consequences and investigation into that bridge collapse. It was basically a design flaw. The gusset plates transferring longitudinal loads in one girder as transverse load in another were riveted to both. The load was supposed to be born by the friction between the plates and girders caused by the pressure from the rivets holding everything together.
      The mistake was to fail to understand how such a joint behaves as the bridge is warmed by the sun and cooled. The temperature cycling actually causes the joint to very slowly creep, despite the friction.
      Eventually, the joint moves enough that the load is beginning to get transferred as a shearing action on the first rivet to get trapped as its holes slowly move out of alignment. And, because the riveting is not a precision cut thing, it's one rivet first. The shear load builds, and that rivet snaps in half. The pressure from the rivets is reduced, and the joint can now move a little faster. Another rivet snaps, then another, and all of a sudden there's not enough left. Quite a mistake to make.
      The more startling fact is that there's over 70,000 bridges in the USA with the same basic design flaw. They're all going to suffer this problem and fate, if not altered or replaced. Replacing 70,000 bridges in short order is a lot of work to do quickly...
      That's the problem with infrastructure tenders. The same basic design tends win every time, because it's the cheapest. If it's flawed, it's a looming disaster. We've had problems here in the UK with concrete cancer, e.g. Spaghetti Junction, and other structures that followed the same recipe of concrete. We now seem to favour enormous steel girders forming the whole span in one piece, simply laid on top of the bridge ends / piers, with concrete slabs on top for the road deck. Makes me wonder if all the older concrete bridges are going to be problematic...

    • @WeeShooey
      @WeeShooey Před 7 měsíci

      Just watched it. Very sad.

    • @hairyairey
      @hairyairey Před 7 měsíci

      I remember that one and the failure of the gusset plates.

  • @dough740
    @dough740 Před 7 měsíci +30

    If I remember correctly, the load calculation decided that if you had 44 tonne HGVs nose to tail for the entire span in all ten lanes, there was a chance it may do a little more than sag in the middle. They closed one lane in each direction, and stopped certain slip roads accessing the through route, and for the first time in 25 years, traffic actually flowed on the bridge, rather than staggered across. This also moved the congestion from the bridge to the Townhead and Tradeston stretches instead

  • @jaguarladdie
    @jaguarladdie Před 7 měsíci +3

    The cost of building this bridge today would be about the same as what has currently been paid out by the taxpayer on the 2 ferries lying down at Ferguson's Shipyard in Greenock. Having said that the SNP have many more bridges to build before they could be let loose on overseeing a project like this.

  • @Scuzza344
    @Scuzza344 Před 7 měsíci +15

    I know you did a video of the M6 in the North West, but you should do a video on the Thelwall Viaduct, especially the early 2000s closures of each side that saw the decks lifted whilst new roller bearings were installed. Pretty much made travel in the North West hell on earth for years until they finally finished it.

    • @ncot_tech
      @ncot_tech Před 7 měsíci +1

      I remember the traffic reports on Key 103 back then... "And as usual the Thelwall Viaduct is a carpark, due to bridge repairs". That mess along with the M60 completion happening on the other side made getting about in Manchester and the surrounding areas back then a pretty soul destroying ordeal.

    • @johnmoruzzi7236
      @johnmoruzzi7236 Před 7 měsíci

      There’s long term 50 mph roadworks limits now between Thelwall and the M58 now so the intention is clearly to have that entire area crap on a permanent basis…..

    • @Scuzza344
      @Scuzza344 Před 7 měsíci

      @@johnmoruzzi7236that’ll be them “smart” motorways for ya

  • @6yjjk
    @6yjjk Před 7 měsíci +3

    The strengthening work on the Forth Road Bridge's towers is fascinating. Essentially cut a hole at the bottom, slide a box girder in, jack it up, slide another one in, jack it up, until they hit the top.

    • @abarratt8869
      @abarratt8869 Před 7 měsíci +2

      So, a re-skinning job but inside out? That's quite amazing!

    • @Species1571
      @Species1571 Před 7 měsíci +1

      And then after all that work, discovered it is the cables that are the problem.

    • @abarratt8869
      @abarratt8869 Před 7 měsíci +1

      @@Species1571 I think the cables are problematic for much longer. They had to repair the rest (towers, deck) so that they could reopen it to traffic because the new bridge wouldn't be ready any time soon.
      The new bridge is a good design : replaceable cables.

  • @David_Crayford
    @David_Crayford Před 7 měsíci +4

    Splendid. To the standard of a local news report now, Jon.

  • @MrBreadman1966
    @MrBreadman1966 Před 7 měsíci +1

    I see Jon has "Taken to the High Road" this week judging by the outro...

  • @MummaBear
    @MummaBear Před 7 měsíci +1

    I love this kinda thing. You never think about the road when you're using it.

  • @skelt6or
    @skelt6or Před 7 měsíci +12

    Love it! Especially when you cover scottish roads. Keep up the great work.

  • @punkykenickie2408
    @punkykenickie2408 Před 3 měsíci +1

    3:45 Unexpected 'Take The High Road' theme!

  • @station240
    @station240 Před 7 měsíci +2

    In my part of the world we had a road bridge we had to do this sort of thing to.
    Only no need to remove the old bridge supports, the freight train derailment did that, demolished an entire row of columns right where two main bridge spans join.

  • @DuncanBooth
    @DuncanBooth Před 7 měsíci +17

    I love the idea of moving a really heavy bridge even if it's only a few centimetres. The A34 near Oxford did some bridge shifting by several metres a few years when they built a new bridge beside the old one, demolished the old one, and then pushed the new bridge sideways into the resulting gap in one weekend (all the while keeping the road open apart from a few weekend closures).

  • @tardismole
    @tardismole Před 7 měsíci +4

    The cast additiions of seagull and long-haired rat - aka Yorkshire Terrier - received praise and treats after filming was completed. :)

  • @Dunbardoddy
    @Dunbardoddy Před 6 měsíci +1

    I seem to remember that there was concern about movement of the Kingston Bridge when I was an engineering student at the University of Strathclyde in the 1970s...

  • @CheshireTomcat68
    @CheshireTomcat68 Před 7 měsíci +1

    All that preamble for a short video about a Yorkie. This is what we are here for.

  • @BonBonB
    @BonBonB Před 7 měsíci +7

    Everyone loves a big old bridge.
    Except me.
    (Bridges make me cross)

    • @AndyHullMcPenguin
      @AndyHullMcPenguin Před 7 měsíci +1

      You win 100 internet points for that joke. Spend them wisely.

    • @abarratt8869
      @abarratt8869 Před 7 měsíci

      You'll get over it.

    • @abarratt8869
      @abarratt8869 Před 7 měsíci

      Long suspension bridges are more easily taught, because they have long a tension spans.

    • @AndyHullMcPenguin
      @AndyHullMcPenguin Před 7 měsíci

      @@abarratt8869 I truss these jokes will get better.

    • @abarratt8869
      @abarratt8869 Před 7 měsíci

      @@AndyHullMcPenguin One civil engineer to another, whilst surveying the dislodged bridge: "Hey, why cantilever the span back into place with a crow bar?".

  • @HairySteveUK
    @HairySteveUK Před 7 měsíci +5

    Reminds me of an incident when I was working on the earthworks for Ebbsfleet international station, there was a bridge under the A2 which needed to be widened to take 4 lanes rather than the original 2, but that was easy as it had a big embankment on one side piled up against the bridge abutment, so they dug it away. A few weeks later there was a panicked phone call to the chief engineer from one of the survey teams that the entire bridge had moved something like 50mm in a few days, which is quite a lot for a bridge! :) Cue lots of people running around trying to work out how to stop the whole thing collapsing. I left that site a couple of weeks later so I don't know what their solution was, but it must have worked as the bridge is still there 20-something years later. :)

  • @MikeyDunn
    @MikeyDunn Před 7 měsíci +4

    If you want to see knackered bridges, there's a few in Hull. They're over a hundred years old and rusting away, you'd have thought being that old that they'd have had plenty of time to plan replacing them, but someone slapped listed tags on them, so the council's done nothing much more than paint them occasionally over the last 40 years. One's been half removed, one's been closed for a few years and inspected a few times to see if it's fallen in yet, and there's three more that I wouldn't give much more than another 25 years.

  • @Sco1ful
    @Sco1ful Před 7 měsíci +2

    Had the pleasure of working on that project for the company that drilled the bolt holes and managed to get inside the structure. Quite surreal to stand inside. 😊

  • @DadgeCity
    @DadgeCity Před 7 měsíci +2

    You're very good at explaining things. I'm starting to realise that the lackadaisical touches are a bit of an act.

  • @SpikeMatthews
    @SpikeMatthews Před 7 měsíci

    You git - I just about choked on my drink when you made an airplane noise for the passing gull...

  • @DubStu
    @DubStu Před 7 měsíci +4

    And here was I lamenting in the M8 video that you’d “missed” this part of the Kingston Bridge history…bravo, for the standalone video rather than an aside in the previous! 👏🏻
    Interestingly, there had been a plan to replace the bridge entirely and they’d even gone so far as to select a suspension design that had recently been completed in Brazil. This bridge promptly collapsed and the designer’s credentials called in to question, so Glasgow went with the lift and repair instead…! 😂

  • @Del_S
    @Del_S Před 7 měsíci

    A short and sweet video. *Abridged* even.

  • @starlight5229
    @starlight5229 Před 7 měsíci +2

    Excellent bedtime viewing Jon. Thank you 👏🏻
    Could just do with it being an extra 56 minutes long 😁👍🏻

  • @austinpowers2k9
    @austinpowers2k9 Před 7 měsíci

    I came onto CZcams in my seni drunken state to listen to music, but instead your video has drawn me in again!! 😁

  • @GeorgeMcBean
    @GeorgeMcBean Před 7 měsíci

    Good to see you back in Scotland again

  • @Sue_Cord
    @Sue_Cord Před 6 měsíci

    I was part of the team which monitored the bridge, on the evening when it was lifted and moved. So I tell people I've lifted the Kingston Bridge

  • @hattix6713
    @hattix6713 Před 7 měsíci +1

    Some of the older folk I work with are almost excessively proud of the work they did on this. We had a bit of a downturn not long after, so there wasn't a lot to shout about in the succeeding years.

  • @BlackBuck777
    @BlackBuck777 Před 7 měsíci +1

    As one of a certain age, I remember the build well, and the consequences. My business (then run by my grandfather) was at the time located just along the road on the Broomielaw and he always said the land was too weak to withstand the load, being on a river plain. Reading the fascinating comments from those who worked on it, I see there's more to it, but I think it's still a good theory.

  • @gloomsurvivor
    @gloomsurvivor Před 7 měsíci +8

    when i was at school one of my friends dads was working on this project and we went in for a visit and got to see how the plan was laid out first hand. Was really interesting and i think about it everytime i drive over the bridge.

  • @daboz88
    @daboz88 Před 7 měsíci

    Loved the gull sound at the end

  • @cassinitechnicalserv
    @cassinitechnicalserv Před 7 měsíci

    I cross this bridge everyday. I just learned more in under 4 mins than 20 years driving across it.
    Thank you.

  • @Murph9000
    @Murph9000 Před 7 měsíci +2

    There was an even bigger bridge lift near the east end of the M8 in the 90s. They had to jack the main suspension cables of the Forth Road Bridge (A90) up off the towers to replace the mounts as part of a project to significantly strengthen the towers.

  • @shaun30-3-mg9zs
    @shaun30-3-mg9zs Před 7 měsíci +2

    That is some bridge Jon, it must nerve racking for the engineers to jack that bridge so precise mm by mm. about 6 year's ago, the A483 Wrexham by-pass had 2 bridges jacked up the columns were getting week. The By-pass was built in 1972 and one of the earliest dual carriageway's in North Wales. The Bersham flyover and the bridge over B5101 just before J4 at Mold road junction A541 for Mold and City centre.
    As always great to watch ,take care👍

  • @SinkyYT
    @SinkyYT Před 7 měsíci +2

    You should make a video on the old Forth road bridge.

    • @Eric_Hunt194
      @Eric_Hunt194 Před 7 měsíci +1

      I'm still annoyed that they didn't call the new one "Third Forth Bridge"

  • @MrMistoffelees
    @MrMistoffelees Před 7 měsíci

    Take the High Road! Haven't heard that in a while!

  • @garypeacock5919
    @garypeacock5919 Před 6 měsíci

    I worked nightshift on the bridge in 1998, painting some of the new supports. There are 6 tunnels , or cells as they're known inside the bridge which you can walk from one side to the other, at the centre of the bridge you have to crawl through, the traffic is only a few feet above your head.

  • @metalhead2550
    @metalhead2550 Před 7 měsíci +1

    I'm good Jon, thanks for asking! 😂

  • @johncamp2567
    @johncamp2567 Před 7 měsíci +1

    Always a unique and interesting presentation!! 👍

  • @eat_shi_n_die
    @eat_shi_n_die Před 7 měsíci +1

    Interesting fact! That wee boat looking thing just beside it is the original renfrew ferry! Now some mad venue thing. Interesting choice to use it and not alot of people aware of its historical significance. Especially to folks of renfrew and yoker.
    Cracking vid as always!

  • @david_harvey
    @david_harvey Před 7 měsíci

    Best knackered bridge is the one just outside Ongar, which has had a temporary structure next to the original bridge for over 20 years!

  • @IainHC1
    @IainHC1 Před 6 měsíci

    Buggered!! 😀 so love that word!! 🙂

  • @shahedmc9656
    @shahedmc9656 Před 7 měsíci

    I knew of a small team who were monitoring the movement in the bridge using Survey Equipment during the early 90s.

  • @shaunfaesolar
    @shaunfaesolar Před 7 měsíci +1

    This video could have really benefited from some archive photos of the bridge before and after the works as visually it's really a stark difference and helps show the scale of the work done.

  • @rorymotorbiker
    @rorymotorbiker Před 7 měsíci +1

    I was involved in computer repairs for a couple of years in this project back in the 90s

  • @Dan23_7
    @Dan23_7 Před 7 měsíci +2

    I love a nice bridge, this one is a bit plain looks wise but such a mean feat of engineering to go with it, it gets a 7/10 👍🏼

    • @johnmg88
      @johnmg88 Před 7 měsíci +1

      As a bridge it's nowt to look at but aye, I remember the coverage all this got as every new stage was underway.

  • @billwinward9324
    @billwinward9324 Před 7 měsíci +1

    Amazing stuff!

  • @MrProach2
    @MrProach2 Před 7 měsíci +2

    They did a similar thing at the M5 / A40 interchange (M5 J11) a few years ago...they replaced all of the concrete supports, yet leaving the original road deck undisturbed.

    • @sr6424
      @sr6424 Před 7 měsíci

      I remember that being done. Incredible as it was so far off the ground!

    • @MrProach2
      @MrProach2 Před 7 měsíci

      Indeed; must be 80 feet or so! @@sr6424

  • @pureblood1980x
    @pureblood1980x Před 7 měsíci

    Thanks for another great video. Great stuff.

  • @Assimilator1
    @Assimilator1 Před 7 měsíci

    Fascinating!

  • @davidtraynor8075
    @davidtraynor8075 Před 7 měsíci

    Excellent work John... "raising" the bar again ;)

  • @oddsandwindsocks5905
    @oddsandwindsocks5905 Před 7 měsíci

    Love jons presenting

  • @Spiderelectron
    @Spiderelectron Před 7 měsíci

    The local tabloid (Daily Record) ran an image of the bridge falling into the clyde on it's front page - totally "photoshopped" (90's equiv) of course. It caused a bit of panic, but sold lots of papers!

  • @johnb8746
    @johnb8746 Před 7 měsíci

    Most good video as always. Very interesting

  • @philipeardley4462
    @philipeardley4462 Před 7 měsíci

    great channel by the way and lots of work you put into it

  • @jamesabbott5242
    @jamesabbott5242 Před 7 měsíci

    Awesome Video

  • @michaelj3282
    @michaelj3282 Před 7 měsíci +1

    Quite fascinating really, engineering is such a wonderful thing.

  • @GazlazML5
    @GazlazML5 Před 7 měsíci +1

    Love your videos, keep it up!

  • @MemskiBobSki
    @MemskiBobSki Před 7 měsíci

    Respect for the amount of research for every video. A skill making something possibly dull interesting. Loved the coda of unscripted interactions.

  • @dieseldragon6756
    @dieseldragon6756 Před 3 měsíci +1

    To my knowledge, they've _never_ had this sort of problem with the bridge that leads into Glasgow Central, and that's about a century older than this one! 🚂🚄😇

  • @stephenwhite345
    @stephenwhite345 Před 7 měsíci

    Riveting stuff sir, i could not take my eyes off the screen and i was all ears during your unique narration

  • @FinnDeacon
    @FinnDeacon Před 7 měsíci

    Thanks

  • @MichaelSnasdell
    @MichaelSnasdell Před 7 měsíci

    Fascinating ! Great to see how well you have done these spin offs.

  • @minibus9
    @minibus9 Před 7 měsíci

    awesome video

  • @djsmithe
    @djsmithe Před 7 měsíci

    What a pleasant surprise. Wednesday afternoon with Jon.
    I liked the footage of the sand chickens (sea gulls).
    I've been sagging in the middle for years.

  • @PineappleSkip
    @PineappleSkip Před 7 měsíci

    Nice one, I can relate. An overpass south of here - rather smaller than Kingston Bridge - was officially declared buggered a couple of years ago, and the simple solution was to bolt concrete on to the existing piers.

  • @David_Owsnett
    @David_Owsnett Před 7 měsíci

    Awesome!

  • @diamondizaak6042
    @diamondizaak6042 Před 7 měsíci +2

    I hope everyone has a great day

    • @brantnuttall
      @brantnuttall Před 7 měsíci

      have you had a good week?

    • @diamondizaak6042
      @diamondizaak6042 Před 7 měsíci

      @@brantnuttallI’ve had a wonderful week, have you had a good week?

    • @brantnuttall
      @brantnuttall Před 7 měsíci

      @@diamondizaak6042 I have and welcome to another exciting episode of secrets..................

  • @portlandfester7510
    @portlandfester7510 Před 6 měsíci

    Another epic amazing what they can do now

  • @RedDelM
    @RedDelM Před 7 měsíci

    I wrote some software that collected up the data from all those sensors and produced ptetty graphs showing how the movements were cyclical as the ambient temperature changed through the year, and how they were gradually shifting over time. On the night of the lift i was in one of the little portalabins under the south approach anxiously watching the live numbers coming on. As i recall it all went absolutely as planned which was a relief all round!

  • @Species1571
    @Species1571 Před 7 měsíci +1

    They jacked it up by half an inch with a tolerance of 2 millimetres, just to keep imperial and metric fans both happy.

  • @cameronc393
    @cameronc393 Před 7 měsíci +1

    Really informative video. Coincidentally there is a new footbridge being positioned just downstream from the Kingston Bridge any day now

    • @CoolSteve08
      @CoolSteve08 Před 7 měsíci +1

      It was lifted yesterday around 5pm! I think it's just the rotating part though, I think the fixed part is still to come.

  • @gregessex1851
    @gregessex1851 Před 7 měsíci

    I done a few similar jobs albeit not as large. It is quite common to jack bridges up to replace bearings and thankfully bridges are now designed to do it without spending more than the original cost of the bridge.

  • @YetAnotherGeorgeth
    @YetAnotherGeorgeth Před 7 měsíci +2

    Very carefully

  • @chrisgreen6889
    @chrisgreen6889 Před 6 měsíci +1

    The jacks are still in there and to my knowledge it remains the largest structure ever to be lifted.

  • @BristolPeterUK
    @BristolPeterUK Před 7 měsíci

    Given some half decent material you turn out a great video (the series on motorways of Scotland would have floored Spielberg!). Well done.

  • @regularguy3665
    @regularguy3665 Před 7 měsíci

    I’d love to see an episode on the Clifton flyover (Nottingham, A453/A52) and the fracas that became.

  • @Jonny_The_Organism
    @Jonny_The_Organism Před 7 měsíci

    On this kind of subject....check out the westbound carriageway of the M4 across the second Severn crossing which kept developing a hole....I was on a team that kept having to put closures on that section....full time job!....I did it for two years and got bored with it and moved on to another boring traffic management job...and kept on moving from boring job to boring job....life!...

  • @DeepSpaceNetwork
    @DeepSpaceNetwork Před 7 měsíci

    Nice

  • @steve.b.23
    @steve.b.23 Před 7 měsíci

    Having encountered a number of the locals, I'd say they're used to jacking up in Glasgow.

  • @just_saw_dust
    @just_saw_dust Před 6 měsíci

    Next time you are (unfortunate to be) in Warrington, go to Bridge foot and see the Academy building - where Joseph Priestley of oxygen fame once worked. That building, though substantially lighter, was shifted several feet North way back in the 1970s. There used to be a statue of Oliver Cromwell outside it. I don't know if that's still there but apparently Queen Victoria, when passing on her royal train, would draw the curtains in protest.