Strainstall has won a multi-million pound contract to monitor a major new Scottish transport project.

The company, which is based in Cowes, will provide support to the new £790m Forth Replacement Crossing, a cable-stayed bridge which will carry a motorway with two lines of traffic plus a hard shoulder in either direction. The structure, when completed, will be 2.7km long and has been designed to complement the existing road and rail crossings over the Firth of Forth.

The bridge is the result of extensive studies commissioned by Transport Scotland since 2006, and has involved teams of engineers from around the world, while the final design and construction is currently being carried out by the Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) consortium.


The consortium comprises of Hochtief, Dragados, American Bridge International and Morrisons Construction.

Strainstall is a subsidiary of James Fisher and Sons plc and the contract will see the group apply a range of sophisticated monitoring technologies to the structure, allowing its precise movements and loadings to be monitored in real time, both during the construction process as well as throughout the service life of the bridge.

Richard Burmeister, Managing Director at Strainstall, said: "Strainstall is extremely proud to have been asked to partner with the Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) consortium in providing the crucial structural health monitoring package of services and technology for the new Forth Replacement Crossing.

"This new bridge over the Firth of Forth is a significant infrastructure investment for Scotland and we are pleased to be able to play our part in providing the required structural health monitoring technology and services.

"This contract award is a further demonstration of the international name and reputation of Strainstall in the provision of structural health monitoring both for new build civil engineering projects as well as the protection of important heritage structures."

(JP/CD)