So what did civil engineers ever do for us?
To the casual observer, it’s a rather impressive bridge. On closer inspection, it’s very much more.
The main bridge section of the new £600m six-lane Mersey Gateway bridge built by the Merseylink Consortium across the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal between Runcorn and Widnes only makes up a kilometre out of 9.2 kilometres of civil engineering works.
And to a civil engineer, the Mersey Gateway project was a feast of engineering challenges, including major road network remodelling – building new approach roads while keeping existing roads open and free-flowing – all complicated by working on a highly contaminated site, due to the area’s industrial past.
Meet Rosey Thurling, 24, from Keighley, West Yorkshire. Rosey graduated with an MEng in Civil Engineering from the University of Nottingham in 2015 and her first job, after joining Kier Infrastructure and Overseas as a graduate engineer, happened to be working on a project regarded by KPMG as one of the world’s top 100 infrastructure projects
As Rosey explains: “There are already two bridges crossing the Mersey around this point. One of them will be 150 years old next year; it has carried everyone who ever took the train from Liverpool to London, and one day it will probably carry a new high-speed railway to link up with HS2 and HS3.
“The other one now carries 80,000 vehicles a day, which is a lot more than it was built for. So the Mersey Gateway will provide another six lanes, and it will hugely improve connectivity in this part of the North West and beyond.”
So how did a newly-graduated civil engineer fit into the picture?
“I joined the project as part of the North Landside Structures Team, the team responsible for all structures on the Widnes side. I had to cover a range of engineering disciplines – for instance working on geotechnics and ground stabilisation, reinforced earth retaining walls, precast concrete railway portal frames, and finishing works such as parapet and fascia unit installation.”
Civil engineers usually find their work highly varied and full of problem-solving challenges. As Rosey says, “The thing that I like the most on this job is that I meet and work with new people every single day. Working as a contractor is very social and it keeps my work varied and interesting.
“Plans on site change day by day and often hour by hour, and it’s part of my job to make decisions accordingly, to benefit both the programme and the cost of the project.”
So now that the project is almost finished, how does it feel to have been a part of it?
“I am immensely proud to have had the privilege to work on this project and see it grow out of the ground day by day.
“A defining moment for me was watching the tarmac being laid on the Victoria and Widnes Viaduct, as this was the final layer before opening the road to the public. To see this structure being built from piles to tarmac has been absolutely fantastic.
“Over the past two years I’ve seen my confidence grow and I’ve developed my own management style while working with sub-contractors – which I see as critical skills for any engineer working for a principal contractor.”
Part of Rosey’s time with Mersey Gateway was spent helping build bridges of a different kind – between the project and the broader community: “The Mersey Gateway project has had a very high level of public communications and engagement and it has been something I have been heavily involved with throughout the project.
“I have visited three local schools, one primary and two secondary, as part of STEM days to encourage and inspire others to take STEM subjects.
“This is something I have always seen as very important – especially for young women. I don’t come from an engineering family or background myself, and pursuing STEM subjects at school was the initial spark towards my career in engineering, so I’ll grasp any opportunity to encourage others to do the same. I’ve also been involved in International Women in Engineering Day and various project-based presentations.”
So, as the Mersey Gateway opens to traffic, what’s next for Rosey?
“I’ll be moving onto the M6 Smart Motorway project (junctions 16-19), which is another large joint venture project.
“After that, it depends. There are a lot of very large, exciting projects in the UK. For example, in the future I’d like to work on HS2.
“Within the next couple of years my main career aspiration is to become a chartered member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and complete a year in a design consultancy to further my technical knowledge base.
“I’d also like to help inspire young people to choose a career in engineering.”
Ahead of the Institution of Civil Engineers’ 200th birthday in 2018, TheBusinessdesk.com meets some of the North West engineers behind Britain’s infrastructure. Next week: the roads.
