The Hulme Arch Bridge, Manchester

The award-winning Hulme Arch Bridge in Manchester is a showpiece for the civil engineering profession. Though small in scale, this new cable-stayed road bridge in the heart of the Hulme regeneration area is a perfect example of how imaginative design combined with leading-edge engineering technology can be used to create a landmark structure which captures the public's imagination. The 52 m span is supported by a unique single diagonal parabolic arch made from a tapering trapezoidal steel box section coated in aluminium paint. This paper describes the design and construction of the various elements of the bridge and discusses, in particular, the measures taken to avoid plate buckling and to control concrete foundation temperatures.