An enterprising Shrewsbury joinery business has put its considerable skills to use to construct a bridge for a rural Shropshire estate.
So big was the timber-clad, steel structure that it was made at Morris Joinery’s base at Bicton Business Park then disassembled so that it could be transported 20 miles away, craned into position and then rebuilt in its permanent position.
The bridge was commissioned for a privately-owned south Shropshire Estate to replace an ageing wooden bridge with one strong enough to accommodate the largest tractors and farm vehicles. The replacement bridge, 14m long, 4.6m wide and weighing 26 tonnes was crafted from timber and galvanised steel.
Joinery team members clad the steelwork in prime grade European green oak to give the appearance of a rustic wooden bridge. They spent 10 weeks working on the project at their Bicton Business Park base and a further six weeks on the agricultural and shooting estate, with the foundations and civils works carried out by Morris Property. The installation of the bridge was captured on a time lapse camera, and the footage is available on the Morris Joinery LinkedIn and Facebook pages.
Joinery manager Matt Tyrrell says: “We specialise in bespoke traditional and contemporary joinery and enjoy the challenge of turning our hands to different projects. Not many joinery companies can say they can make a bridge on this scale.”
“This was certainly a big job in more ways than one, including the logistics of getting such a large structure to its rural destination. We had to build it, take it apart and then put it back together again like a massive jigsaw.
“We were proud to work on such a project. It looks great and the client is delighted with the results.”
The skills of the team were previously called on to provide all the joinery for the estate’s Alpine style shooting lodge which was built by Morris Property.
Morris Joinery offers a full range of commercial and domestic services. It is part of a fifth-generation family business group which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year.
