BEAR Scotland has won the Best Innovation in Delivery of Small Projects category at the VINCI Construction Innovation Awards 2024, for the Queensferry Crossing Cable Stay Cleaning project.

During specific winter weather conditions, the cable stays on the Queensferry Crossing can be susceptible to ice accretion, which can lead to ice and snow falling from height down to carriageway level. Although this is not a frequent occurrence, it can be dangerous and disruptive. Over time the stay cable ‘pipes’ had gathered a thin layer of dirt from atmospheric transit. Having completed laboratory testing, it showed that ice accretion could be delayed or prevented by ensuring that the outer stay cable sheath was kept free of dirt and grime and grime. A full phase of stay cleaning was completed in Autumn 2022. As well as cleaning the cables, the winched shuttle was also equipped with four high-definition cameras, allowing comprehensive footage of the stay pipes to be recorded in conjunction with the cleaning operations.

The shuttle successfully cleaned the cables without the need for operatives working from ropes. This significantly reduced the working at height risk and the danger of dropped objects.

The project was funded by Transport Scotland and was supported by the specialist input of the original stay cable supplier, VSL.

Congratulations to the team!