Pooley Bridge has won a prestigious award for its design and innovation.
The bridge, which replaced the village’s 250-year-old crossing destroyed during Storm Desmond in 2015, won the accolade from the 2021 Structural Steel Design Awards.
The team behind the new bridge included Knight Architects; structural engineers GHD; steelwork contractor S H Structures; and main contractor, Eric Wright Civil Engineering. The work was completed for Cumbria County Council.
Judges from the Structural Steel Design Awards, now in their 53rd year, said: “Ingenuity, innovation and beauty combine in this remarkable replacement for the Grade II listed stone bridge swept away by floods in 2015.
“The UK’s first structural stainless steel road bridge, the solution utilises expertly fabricated high strength low nickel alloys to achieve a low maintenance and highly efficient structure.
“Striking contemporary design in the heart of the national park.”
Dr David Moore, CEO of BCSA, said: “It is a pleasure to celebrate the ingenuity of our steel construction industry, and the shortlisted projects were all of a great standard.
“Congratulations to the whole team behind Pooley New Bridge, which is both sensitive to the surroundings and hugely innovative.”