Steventon Bridge

 

Steventon Bridge

The Great Western Main Line from Paddington to Cardiff is being electrified. The railway was originally designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the 1830s and many of the original bridges on the route are now listed.

There is sometimes insufficient clearance to accommodate the overhead contact wires through the original Brunel-designed bridges. Where this occurs there are generally two ways forward – lowering the track under the bridge or reconstruction of the bridge to provide more headroom.

At Steventon bridge in south Oxfordshire, track lowering is not feasible so the Grade II listed bridge must be demolished and replaced. Historic England agreed to this approach, in principle, on the condition that there was an acceptable appearance and design quality to the replacement bridge.

The design of the new bridge was developed in association with Knight Architects and comprises precast concrete post-tensioned arched deck units spanning about 19m with precast concrete parapets and brickwork abutments. The existing bridge is narrow and unfriendly for pedestrians, so it was agreed with the highways authority that the bridge should be widened. Careful consideration was also given to the detailing and quality of the finishes to the bridge.

Historic England and the local conservation officer have given a positive response to the replacement design. We also prepared the Heritage Statement to support the listed building consent application.

Client: Network Rail
Architects: Knight Architects