The Welsh municipality, Rhondda Cynon Taf, near Cardiff in the UK, needed a refurbishment of the Windsor Road Footbridge. The bridge crosses the River Taff, which means that it is constant exposed to water, wind and weather conditions. Over time these conditions made the timber footbridge deck very slippery and consequently dangerous for pedestrians to walk on. The solution chosen for the refurbishment was a GFRP bridge deck that requires no maintenance.

A long lifespan and a safer bridge deck

The municipality decided to refurbish the slippery footbridge deck using Fiberline’s HD Planks. The footbridge is 42.28m long and the new deck is made of fiberglass, which is corrosion-free, even under demanding and corrosive conditions. Therefore, the GFRP planks make up a safer walking surface on the bridge deck that will not rot or get slippery. Safety is often an important factor when it comes to building public footbridges.

Fiberline has throughout the project worked closely with the contractor Horan Construction from Cardiff and with consultancy from Capita Symonds, Pontybridd.

Christopher Lewis, Capita Symonds:

“From our side we are very pleased with the result. The timber footbridge deck was very slippery and dangerous but using the Fiberline deck has removed this hazard. It also looks good.”

Maintenance of bridges exposed to demanding conditions is often expensive and time-consuming. However, as GFRP is both weatherproof and corrosion-resistant, the bridge in Rhondda Cynon Taf will have a long lifespan with only minimal maintenance. Other advantages include high strength and low weight.