Built in 1812 as part of the turnpike road system link between Penrith and Appleby, Brougham Castle Bridge is a three-span sandstone ashlar masonry arch bridge across the river Eamont with a total crossing length of 45 metres. The bridge now carries the C3048, a two-lane carriageway road providing access from Penrith to the 13th century Brougham Castle.

This partially collapsed 200 year old old Grade II listed masonry arch bridge has been repaired following storm flood damage in 2015, extensively scouring one of the piers. During the investigation, it was discovered that the bridge was founded on scour-sensitive materials. The global stability was analysed to understand the new load paths. Foundation stability was restored by means of a temporary cofferdam, underpinning concrete and resin binding of the granular riverbed material, before work began on the superstructure. The barrel vaults had to be unloaded and exposed to restore their shape and original load transfer, before replacing the road surface. The entire construction phase was constrained to a 75 day window due to the river authority’s requirements.

The project involved the repair and rebuild of a flood damaged three span, 45m sandstone ashlar masonry arch bridge built in 1812, and featured major temporary works with cross-pier bracing and hydraulic jacking. Repairs used geologically matched stone and compatibly designed lime mortar, while the design solution used the latest innovative techniques to strengthen and build-in resilience to future floods.