The refurbishment of three footbridges, one traditional timber and two recycled plastic timber.
Surrey County Council asked us to refurbish three bridges behind Oakwood Chapel in Abinger. This was the first time that the Council asked us to use recycled plastic timbers to replace all the timbers on the two smaller bridges.
Access was challenging as there was no vehicular access, and the main route was completely blocked by an enormous fallen tree. Our only option was to access the bridges via the steps leading down from the church, carrying our tools and materials in a handcart part of the way, and then by hand.
Working with the recycled plastic beams brought its own challenges, as plastic shavings were created during the build. We moved our work area well away from the watercourse and used oversized tarpaulins to catch all the waste. The waste was carefully collected and removed from the site in covered tubs to ensure no plastic entered the river or was left in the woodland.
We then turned our attention to the timber bridge, replacing all the timber aspects.
This was the most beautiful woodland to work in, overlooked by an amazing church dating back to c.1220. Now the access is futureproofed for generations to come.
