Leaving Certificate Construction Studies Project

Richard McKenna

Model Making
Boyne Cable Bridge

Table of Contents

Location and History of the Area......................................................................................................... 2

Battle of the Boyne ............................................................................................................................. 3

History of the Bridge ........................................................................................................................... 4

Construction Process .......................................................................................................................... 5

Stay Cables .......................................................................................................................................... 8

Over View............................................................................................................................................ 9

Diary of Making the Model Bridge.................................................................................................... 10

Additional Model Information .......................................................................................................... 19

Bibliography ...................................................................................................................................... 20

The Boyne Cable Stayed Bridge

Location and History of the Area:
The Boyne Cable Bridge is located around 3km
west of Drogheda the M1 Northern Motorway.
This 22km long section of motorway connects
the Balbriggan Bypass to the Dunleer Bypass
and is a key element in the major road network
of the country as before this bridge was in place
all traffic would have had to go through the busy
town of Drogheda, which would be complete grid lock at rush hour traffic previous to its
construction. There would be a large volume of traffic commuting from Dundalk and The north
side of Drogheda and with the bridge in place it more than halfs the commuting time The
Bridge is on the boarder of County Meath and County Louth, therefore Meath County Council
and Louth County Council and the Drogheda Corporation where involved as they are the local
authorities. The bridge itself is in the middle of one of Irelands most historic sites know in
history is The Battle of the Boyne, which took place in 1690 which I will give a brief history
below. The River Boyne itself is 150m wide and has two channels separated by Yellow Island,
at low tide the river is crossable from either side leaving a sandy mud path to cross. There is a
vide variety of flora and fauna species living in this area. They had to be protected during the
construction of the bridge with no interruption at all.
A MINOR Battle of the Boyne is looming as councillors in Co Meath where preparing to
rename a Boyne bridge after former president Mary McAleese, (Times, 2013). Councillors in
County Louth have objected to the change.
The bridge on the M1 motorway spans the Boyne near Drogheda and crosses the boundary
between the two local authorities. Although the bridge has never been officially named Louth
county council feels that if the name was changed the area would lose out to tourism as the
Battle of the Boyne is a major tourist attraction in the area and the Boyne Cable Bridge plays
a huge part in this now.
The move was put forward as McAleese played a big part in the peace process by building
bridges with Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland when all the troubles where going
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on and to have a major architectural bridge that has won many awards for its outstanding
infrastructure named after her on the road that leads from the Republic of Ireland to Northern
Ireland would be an honour. However, Louth County Council have objected to the proposal
Mayor of Drogheda Paul Bell (Labour) said He said the bridge is on our side of the river,
and at worst it crosses both jurisdictions. Where has the public consultation been on this?
(Times, 2013)

The Battle of the Boyne History:

In 1690 two kings commanded their armies in person. William had 36,000 men and James had
25,000 - the largest number of troops ever deployed on an Irish battlefield. English, Scottish,
Dutch, Danes and Huguenots (French Protestants) made up Williams army (Williamites),
while James' men (Jacobites) were mainly Irish Catholics, reinforced by 6,500 French troops
sent by King Louis XIV. At stake were the British throne, French Dominance in Europe and
religious power in Ireland.
Williams camp was on the north side of the river. Jamess was on the south side with the two
armies facing each other. Williams battle plan was to trap the Jacobite army in a pincer
movement. He sent 10,000 men towards Slane which drew the bulk of the Jacobities upstream
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in response. With 1,300 Jacobites posted in Drogheda, only 6,000 were left at Oldbridge to
confront 26,000 Williamites. All the fighting took place on the south side of the river, as the
vastly outnumbered Jacobites defended their position against the advancing Williamites.
William himself crossed at Old Bridge with 3,500 mounted troops.
Two Jacobite infantry regiments lined up behind
the houses and surrounding ditches, but their
musket fire failed to halt the advance of King
William's infantry across the river.
When William's Dutch Guards gained the south
bank, they rushed to the attack, firing musket
volleys and driving the Jacobites back."The action was so hot till past eleven that many old
soldiers said they never saw brisker work".
Further downstream, several more regiments of William's infantry crossed the river and
managed to establish themselves on the south bank, where they drew up in battle formation to
meet James's counterattack.
Approximately 1,500 soldiers were killed at the Boyne. At the time of the battle there was no
bridge across the Boyne at Oldbridge, but there was a small village at approximately this point.
(www.battleoftheboyne.ie).
History of Bridge:
The area surrounding the Boyne Bridge is of huge cultural significance with the bridge being
situated adjacent to the location of the Battle of the Boyne. Aside from this the area was also
identified as a critical ecological area by an Environment Impact Statement. It was of
paramount importance that the existing habitats be preserved and so no piers could be placed
with in the river. The river channel is asymmetric when viewed in elevation and consists of a
steep valley sides to the south and a more gradual slope on the opposing side. The historic
importance of the river valley in addition to the poor underlying soil conditions (Soft alluvial
deposits and mudflats) lent itself to the use of an asymmetric cable stay bridge. The use of such
a structure caused minimal intrusion onto the battle of the Boyne site and interfered least with
the tidal flow of the river. The final design was relatively simple in concept and features an
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inverted Y pylon which rises 95m and supports a clear span of 170m using a semi harp cable
stay arrangement. The pylon is anchored by back stays into a concrete abutment on the south
bank. The bridge is used exclusively by vehicles and took 4 years to construct at a cost of
40million. The bridge was designed by a consortium of engineering consultants; led by
Roughan & Donavon Ltd the final design was approved by the client Meath County council,
in 1999. (Dwyer, 2009).
Construction Process:
The construction of the Boyne Bridge was particularly challenging. Not only was the pylon
one of the most complex concrete structures to be attempted in Ireland; much of it would also
have to be constructed at height where wind speeds were particularly high. The construction
team were hampered further in that interaction with the river being forbidden leading to the
development of a unique construction plan. (Dwyer, 2009, p. 4).
Foundations:
Underlying ground conditions at the site consist of karstic limestone typically exhibiting
fissures and voids. All elements of the sub-structures excluding the anchorage abutment are
supported on bored piles, 1500mm diameter for the pylon and 900mm for all other piled
substructures. (Joe ODonovan, 2003)
Pylon:
To construct the inclined members of the pylon an innovative truss formwork was utilized. The
ALUMA truss formwork was initially constructed between the legs on the ground. From this
position it gradually moved up the pylon legs with truss members from the bottom being
removed and replaced on top as the formwork climbs the pylon leg. The steep inclination of
the pylon legs (in excess of 20) meant that the formwork also served the purpose of keeping
the legs the correct lateral position. This was particularly useful as it removed the need for
subsequent jacking to move the legs apart. Construction of the pylon legs was achieved with a
series of 6m pours until a sufficient platform was created to allow the head to be constructed.

Pylon construction ALUMA formwork

Construction of the pylon head was one of the most challenging parts of the construction
process; this was principally due to the height and high wind speed. These factors in addition
to the crane being predominantly used to construct the deck ruled out the use of traditional
formwork. To overcome this, the construction team used RMD Kwikforms auto-climb
formwork, this is essentially a hydraulically operated self-climbing formwork which is fully
automated and removes the requirement for carnage. This allowed construction of the deck to
continue simultaneously with construction of the pylon. The pylon head was constructed in 3m
pours in 5 day cycles; each cycle consisted of fixing the reinforcement immediately after
concrete had been poured, rolling the formwork into position and raising the auto climb
brackets which allowed the formwork to proceed. After this the next concrete section could be
poured. This process was completed 10 times until the full height of the pylon was attained.

The inner core of the pylon head was constructed

with permanent steel liners. These steel units were
prefabricated in 1.5m high sections and featured
anchorage points to allow the installation of the
cable stays. The steel liner was particularly useful
as it restrained the pylon head against wind action
and acted as a permanent formwork which acts
compositely with the concrete through the
installation of shear studs. (Dwyer, 2009).

Deck:
Detailed design of the erection methods for all elements of the deck and for supply and
operation of the strand jacking systems used to launch the deck into final position. The bridge
has a continuous composite deck with spans or 43.5m, 170m, 45m, 40m and 25m. The deck
construction comprises two primary outer longitudinal girders with multiple transverse girders
supporting a composite concrete deck. In the 170m main span the deck is supported by twenty
eight fanned cables, fourteen on each side of the deck, which connect to a 95m high reinforced
concrete A frame pylon which is anchored by cables to the abutment behind.

The 113.5m long main

and back spans were
assembled

behind

the

south abutment and then

launched forward into
final position. To support
the deck during launching
an arrangement of continuously adjusting strand jacks was used as shown below. Precise
calculation of the deck geometry and strand jack forces at all stages was required to enable site
operations to be properly controlled. As far as we are aware, this is the only cable stay bridge
in the world to have been erected in this way and should prove to be a useful method to employ
on other projects where ground access is limited. (Technology).
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Stay Cables:
The main span of the deck is supported by an inclined plane of stay cables at each side of the
deck. The fourteen stays on each side fan out in a semi-harp arrangement from the top of the
pylon and pick up the deck at 10m centres with
a 22.5m gap between the pylon and the first
stay and a further 17.5m gap between the last
stay and the pier support at the end of the main
span. The semi-harp arrangement of stays
provides reasonable space for stressing
purposes whilst maintaining the advantage of
steeper

inner

stays.

(The

Design

and

Construction of the Boyne Cable Bridge,

2003, p. 10)

Wind Conditions:
The prevailing winds at the site of
the Boyne Bridge blow from a south
westerly or westerly direction, i.e.
along the Boyne Valley, which has
a funneling effect on the wind
speeds. The road deck of the bridge
is 20 m above the river level. It is
therefore probable that the wind
conditions on the bridge will be
worse than elsewhere on the
motorway

and

could

cause

problems for drivers of wind

susceptible vehicles.Experience on
the West Link Bridge in Dublin and
the Second Severn Crossing in Britain has shown that the provision of porous windshields
along the edges of the bridge deck can significantly reduce the effects of high winds on traffic

using the bridge without having too much of an adverse effect on the aerodynamic performance
of the bridge.
The Preliminary Report therefore included a recommendation that wind shielding be provided
on the Boyne Bridge. (Joe ODonovan, 2003)

Over View:
Carries:

4 lanes

Crosses:

The Boyne River

Location:

Co Louth & Co Meath

Maintained by:

Celtic Roads Group

Designer:

Roughan ODonovan

Number of Spans:

Width:

34.5m

Vertical Clearance:

20m

Height:

95m

Longest Span:

170m

Design:

Cable Stayed Bridge

Construction Began: 2000

Completed:

2003

Opened:

Structural Concrete:

19000 cubic meters

Reinforcement:

2500 tonnes

Structural Steel:

2200 tonnes

15.7mm diameter strand in stays:

333 tonnes

9th June 2003

(283,000m total length)

MY DIARY OF THE BOYNE CABLE BRIDGE

MODEL MAKING CA1 SCALE 1:150

Day One:
I began researching the different buildings styles that has architectural significance within
Ireland be it roman churches; gothic churches; the western cottage; the eastern cottage with all
the different characteristics each building has to offer, I then went onto research modern
structures with many having amazing aesthetics and some breaking boundaries within the
construction industry 3 hours.
Day Two:
After a few days I narrowed it down to the Boyne Cable Bridge, and Newgrange passive tomb.
After much deliberating my final choice was the Boyne Cable Bridge as I can remember it
being built and I was always curious of how the structure was built and all the innovative
features that go with it, also the major impact it would have on the environment and
surrounding area with the bridge in the middle of the Boyne Valley. I completed further
research on the Boyne Cable Bridge and the surrounding area; materials; size and what scale
to make the bridge 2 hours.
Day Three:
I gathered the following materials; MDF; foam; wool; polystyrene; paints; various glues i.e.
mitre bond, PVA, no nails (which is a glue that can be used on polystyrene); road chippings;
E-Z water pellets (fake water); landscape trees and moss; bamboo skewers; plastic Chinese
take away dishes; screws and model fishermen and a car 2 hours.
Day Four:
I started out by cutting out the concrete pylon which consists of two 18mm and one 12mm
MDF sheets, I scaled the bridge to 1:150 I drew the bridge on paper 1st and then copied it to
the MDF, I then screwed all three pieces together and cut the shape out on the band saw. I used
120grit sandpaper to get the finished smooth look. I then cut out the main motor way from
12mm MDF which I cut out on the table saw 3 hours

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Day Five:
I laid out the polystyrene, which was left over packaging from a washing machine.

I marked out the river bed in pencil and the location of the pylon. Once this was done I covered
the motorway in PVA glue, previous to this I put masking tape down to keep the areas I did
not want road chippings on, I then spread the road chippings over the area I previously glued
and compressed it down. When the glue dried, I turned the piece upside down to get the excess
road chippings off which I used for the old bridge road which passes under the Boyne Cable
Bridge.

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For the concrete median barrier which divides both directions of the motorway was made from
white deal by cutting it down to 10mm x 10mm then using the belt sander to form the correct
shape I then painted it a concrete grey.
The crash barriers that stop cars from going over the edge of the bridge were made up by gluing
bamboo skewers together and then painting them in metallic silver.
The inverted Y pylon was built in up in levels and each level is visible to the eye, for these
marks I used a handsaw to give the desired effect. The top of the pylon joins each leg together
with a reveal into the centre which is for aesthetic purposes only, for this I used a handheld
router to give this look. I then painted it with a bright grey to match the aesthetic look it has at
present. I screwed the pylon into the 12mm base with 70mm screws. I then cut the river bed
and sandbanks out using a scalpel making it deeper in the centre and cutting under the banks
at the edge of the river to give the look of erosion from the Boyne River. I then sprayed it with
brown spray paint as this melts the polystyrene which gives the look of a rocky sand bed while
leaving a base coat at the same time. The landscape base was painted a kaki green as I wanted
to make sure that there were no white patches visible when I laid the landscape 9 hours.

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Day Six:
I gathered moss and evergreen clippings that I used for the landscape from the Wateryhillsteps, and left them to dry out close to a radiator.

While my landscape was drying I poured the river, which is made from E-Z water plastic
pellets, I melted these in a metal container on the cooker at 70 Celsius and then poured the
liquidised pellets onto the river bed. With the use of a heat gun I removed any unwanted bubbles
or defects.
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I added more foam to build up the levels at each end of the bridge as the banks start to rise at
each end. I sprayed this with the brown spray paint to give a base coat that also melts the
polystyrene this gives the effect of rocks using filler where needed to cover where the spray
paint melted too much. I painted over the brown with a black, making sure to leave some
brown underneath. When this was dry I dry coated it with grey to give the rock effect. I then
started to fill in the landscape. To add to the effect of a mature fishing area with plenty of trees
that had falling onto the river I placed small twigs around the riverbed and some fishermen 7
hours

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Day Seven:
For the Old Bridge road that goes under the cable stayed bridge I used 12mm plywood and I
used the same method as I done for the motorway to get the same effect. I then used a white
marker pen to draw the dividing white line, yellow paint for the boundary lines.
For the 14 stressed cables north of the pylon I drilled fourteen 2mm holes on each side of the
170 meter spanned motorway, a total of twenty-eight 5mm holes on the pylon and fourteen
2mm holes on each side of the south abutment with the use of a sewing needle I threaded the
grey wool which acts as the stressed cables. There are 14 threaded pieces as I did not want to
sew it up all together as if one breaks in future only one will have to be replaced rather than the
14 cables. 5hours.

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Day Eight:
I rounded 40mm x 40mm timber on the lathe for the columns that take the weight at the end of
the 170 meter span in the north direction. I then filled in the landscape around them.
The lamp posts on the bridge where cut from bamboo skewers and painted a metallic grey
which were glued on with mitre glue, as where the wind barriers I made these out of plastic
Chinese take away containers.
The frame was made from plywood, to get the desired shape I scribed it around the landscape
and then sanded the edges on the belt sander. I then used the brown spray paint to give it a
finished look.

I then screwed the frame to the base to complete my model of the Boyne Cable Bridge - 2.5
hours.
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Additional Model Information:

Model Scale: 1:150
Free Materials: Wool; polystyrene; paints; landscape; plastic containers;
Materials Paid for: E-Z water pellets; road chippings; model fishermen bamboo skewers Total Cost: 29.00
College Supplied Materials: MDF; plywood; various glues i.e. mitre bond, PVA
Schools would supply the materials listed in college supplied materials therefor this being a
very cheap project to make and various paints could be obtained from the Art department.
Total Hours Spent: 33.5

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Bibliography:

The Design and Construction of the Boyne Cable Bridge. (2003). The Northern Motorway, 42.
Dwyer, D. (2009). A Critical Analysis of The Design and Construction of The Boyne Cable
Bridge. Boyne Cable Bridge, 9.
Joe ODonovan, R. O. (2003). The Design and Construction of the Boyne Bridge. The
Institution of Structural Engineers, 2.
siac. (2003). www.siac.ie. Retrieved from Siac.
Technology, D. L. (n.d.). www.dormanlongtechnology.com. Retrieved January 17th, 2013,
from

DormanLongTechnology:

http://www.dormanlongtechnology.com/en/projects/Boyne.htm
Times, T. I. (2013). Name change plan at Boyne a bridge too far for council. Name change
plan at Boyne a bridge too far for council, 12.
www.battleoftheboyne.ie. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17th, 2013, from battle of the boyne.ie:
http://www.battleoftheboyne.ie/TheBattleBeyond/

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