Folkestone Harbour Swing Bridge
Restoration of the former railway infrastructure is part of a major redevelopment of the Folkestone seafront, and will create new public access from the northern side of the harbour. The railway itself was officially closed by the Department for Transport last year, The overall project includes more than 1,000 homes and 10,000 sq m for retail use.
Rhinoceros, working under main contractor Graham Construction, will be blast cleaning and repainting the swing bridge, and also carrying out brickwork repairs and repointing to the 11 arches of the viaduct. Work is expected to start early December.
The Folkestone Harbour Company has appointed Mr. David Crump, who has previously worked on the Wembley Park and Greenwich Peninsula redevelopments, to lead planning and delivery of the project.
Mr Crump says the plan is intended to trigger a full range of social and economic benefits for the town. The project received a boost last year with a £5.1 million grant from the Regional Growth Fund, after plans were formally approved in January 2015 by Shepway District Council.
The former harbour station will be retained as a major access route on to the Harbour Arm and development.
The branch and harbour station provided a rail connection for boat trains from London which connected with the ferry services to Calais and Boulogne. They closed to regular passenger train services in 2001 although the line and station continued to be used by the Venice-Simplon Orient Express and railtours until 2009. The line was officially closed on 31 May 2014.
The Rhinoceros teams completed work on the iconic restoration at Folkestone Harbour, including extensive brickwork repair to the viaduct, blast cleaning and priming of the steel structure. An intermediate coat is applied before several coats of green paint are applied to the steel.
The project is a central feature of the regeneration of the town harbour front and Creative Quarter, and provides public access along the old rail line to the long harbour bar.
Rhinoceros teams have contributed over 25,000 hours of work including blsating, brickwork and steel repairs, and re-coating of the iconic swing bridge.
