*** VIII*** *** THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2009 THE DAILY TELEGRAPH|***CAREERS IN ENGINEERING BRIDGESGOING FORTHDEMAND FOR A NEW BRIDGE ON SCOTLAND’S EAST COAST PRESENTS AN EXCITING CHALLENGE, WRITES RICHARD MILTONA computer-generated image shows the proposed new Forth Road Bridge, left, the existing bridge and the iconic rail crossing, rightFree-thinking mavericks can make the most successful engineers, according to one of the companies involved in building the new bridge across the Firth of Forth. “Innovation is only possible when there is free thought,” saysStella Littlewood, human resources director for Britain’s Arup Group, engineering and design consultants. “The intention within Arup has always been to develop mavericks but in such a way that safety nets are provided, which allows us to deliver an exciting business.” Bridges help give communities identity, for example San Francisco’s Golden Gate or Sydney’s Harbour Bridge, and Arup, in conjunction with UScompany Jacobs Engineering and Danish architects Dissing + Weitling, have the responsibility of erecting a replacement road bridge west of Edinburgh across the Forth . With construction due to start in 2011, a challenge for the engineers will be to build a crossing that isn’t upstaged by the nearby iconic Forth Rail Bridge. The new structure will be cablestayed with three slender singlecolumn towers and an overalllength of 2.7 kilometres. A spokesman for Jacobs said: “It will be unique, instantly recognisable and counted among the world’s leading bridges.” Arup have an innovative tradition. Their founder, Ove Arup, was the first engineer in Britain to apply reinforced concrete techniques to constructing apartment blocks and led the team that designed the SydneyOpera House. The trick is to combine eye-catching features with durability and the ability to cope with increasing usage amid fears about wear and tear to the existing bridge, opened in 1964. Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, John Swinney, says: “A Forth replacement crossing is essential. Concerns over the future viability of the existing road bridge mean that we need to act now to protect thefuture of cross-Forth travel for generations to come. “A cable-stay bridge has lower overall risk and can be used by all types of traffic, including freight, pedestrians and cyclists, and is considerably cheaper to deliver. It also provides for a more affordable, dedicated public transport corridor for use by buses, light-rail or trams.”According to Arup director Angus Low: “There are two distinct sides to our business — design and construction. “Construction obviously appeals to people who like to get outdoors, commanding things on the ground as big yellow machines go into action, while design appeals to people like me who want to sit and dream of things that can be built.” In terms of career opportunities, construction is abright spot on an otherwise gloomy landscape. “There is a skills shortage in the construction industry,” says Low. “And despite the economic downturn the prospects are good. Construction is a global industry. ”@JOBS ONLINE: jobs.telegraph.co.uk/ careers-insiderTELFORD’S TRAIL Images from the great man’s life include, from left: Somerset House, Shrewsbury Castle, components of the Montford Bridge, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, London Bridge, the Menai Bridge, the Caledonian Canal, St Katharine Docks and the Shropshire Union Canal THOMAS TELFORD WAS A VERSATILE AND PROLIFIC SCOTTISH CIVIL ENGINEER WHOSE CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT WAS THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE MENAI BRIDGE IN WALES 1757 Telford is born into a poor Scottish family in Westerkirk, Dumfriesshire. 1771 Aged 14, he finishes school and starts an apprenticeship with a local stonemason, building roads and farmhouses on the estate of a local duke. 1782 Telford moves to London and is appointed master mason for building additions to Somerset House. 1786 Telford moves to Shropshire, converting the derelict Shrewsbury Castle into a house for good friend and MP, Sir William Pulteney. 1787 Impressed with Telford’s work, Sir William creates a new job for him as Shropshire’s Surveyor of Public Works — a position he retains for the rest of his career. 1792 Telford completes his first bridge — the Montford Bridge over the River Severn — a stone structure still in use today and the first of 40 bridges he builds in Shropshire. 1795 He starts work on the towering Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, experimenting with a new construction technique of cast iron troughs mounted on masonry arches. Part of the 46-mile Ellesmere Canal, now the Llangollen Canal, Pontcysyllte is a feat of engineering and takes a decade to build. Even today it remains one of the country’s greatest waterway landmarks. 1800 Telford consults on the rebuilding of London Bridge. 1811 His plan to improve the London to Holyhead road is approved by Parliament and becomes one of the earliest major public road projects. Building starts through some of the UK’s most inaccessible areas. The route is today known as the A5. 1819 Widely considered his crowning achievement, Telford begins work on the ground-breaking Menai Bridge in Wales, one of the highest suspension bridges of its time and built as part of Telford’s London to Holyhead route. 1820 He is appointed the first president of the fledgling Institution of Civil Engineers, founded in 1818. 1822 Telford’s Caledonian Canal, running through the Great Glen linking Inverness to Fort William, is completed and widely acclaimed as a masterpiece of canal engineering. 1824 Telford begins work designing and building St Katharine Docks, near London’s Tower Bridge. 1826-1835 Telford begins the ambitious Shropshire Union Canal project to create the country’s first network of linked canals, from Birmingham to Ellesmere Port on the Wirral. It is a project he doesn’t live to see completed. 1834 Telford dies aged 77 and is buried in the nave of Westminster Abbey.ALAMY; GETTY
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*** *** THE DAILY TELEGRAPH THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2009*** ***| VINNOVATION CAREERS IN ENGINEERINGGOING TO EXTREMES ENGINEERING GENIUS HAS MADE LIVING, EXPLORING AND EVEN ART APPRECIATION POSSIBLE IN THE MOST HOSTILE OF ENVIRONMENTS, SAYS ADAM RAMSAY Anything’s possible: The Halley VI Antarctic resea
*** VI*** *** THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2009 THE DAILY TELEGRAPH|***CAREERS IN ENGINEERING THE INTERNETPeople expect the net to work the same way they expect water to run from the tapoptimisation) engineers, internet developers and those who work for website hosting companies. “The internet jobs market,
*** *** THE DAILY TELEGRAPH THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2009*** ***| VIIRAILWAYS CAREERS IN ENGINEERING GETTYPLATFORM FOR CHANGE EVERY DAY MILLIONS STRUGGLE THROUGH CROWDED OLD STATIONS. ADAPTING THEM AND BUILDING NEW ONES REQUIRES INGENUITY, SAYS JAN BARDENMany of our railway stations are masterpieces of
*** VIII*** *** THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2009 THE DAILY TELEGRAPH|***CAREERS IN ENGINEERING BRIDGESGOING FORTHDEMAND FOR A NEW BRIDGE ON SCOTLAND’S EAST COAST PRESENTS AN EXCITING CHALLENGE, WRITES RICHARD MILTONA computer-generated image shows the proposed new Forth Road Bridge, left, the existing bri
