Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Bridge, New Ross, N25
The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Bridge is one of the most iconic structures in Ireland. This three-tower extradosed bridge has two main spans of 230m each, the longest post-tensioned all concrete extradosed spans in the world. The bridge over the Barrow River, is 887m in length and is characterised by its cables set at lower angles, meaning that pylons are shorter in relation to deck span lengths.
Our partner Ulma, assisted locally by us provided comprehensive services, from the bid and design to material provisioning and closing the project. One of the key factors in the decision to rely on ULMA as a supplier was the comprehensive technical solution proposed, as well as its logistical capacity to provide the tonnes of material necessary on schedule. Coordination with the client and a continual onsite presence allowed ULMA to respond effectively and rapidly to any circumstances that arose in the project.
ULMA was responsible for the transverse section of the approach span decks, the piers, pylons, and pier segments of the bridge.
Design Team
| Main Contractor | BAM-Dragados JV |
| Engineer | Arup Ireland |
| Specialist Designer | Carlos Fernandez Casado (CFC), |
| Consultant | Mott McDonald |
The project consists of eight piers with heights ranging from 12m to 36m. The piles are rectangular, measuring 2m by 6m and 3.4m by 6m, with chamfers at the corners and midline of the section. The pier cap is curved with a radius of 18.8m and reaches a height of 8m. The formwork employed for the piers, both in the rectangular and circular sections, was the ENKOFORM V-100 system supported by CR-250 climbing brackets. The climbing assemblies were 6m in height, featuring two stories of working platforms for pouring and auxiliary jobs.
The same formwork assemblies were reused to complete the three pylons with heights ranging from 16m to 27m and variable sections.
The majority of the bridge was built using gantry falsework, since the geotechnical complexity of the ground below made other shoring systems impractical or impossible. The gantry falsework allowed for savings in foundation work.
The modular MK System was used to span lengths of 35m, 45m, 75m, and 95m, respectively, in the approach spans. Forming trusses, shoring towers, and formwork assemblies, this system provided significant savings in diverse applications
