Innovative Bridge and Barrier Solutions for Urban Safety

Innovative bridge and barrier solutions enhance urban safety by creating safe connections between public spaces.

Tensile has developed many bridge safety barrier solutions for pedestrian and cyclist bridges over the years, using near-transparent lightweight Webnet mesh.

Webnet barriers provide bridge users with robust fall protection, while simultaneously allowing them to take in the surrounding views as they walk or cycle across.

The benefits of Webnet for bridge and barrier solutions

Webnet is made from non-corrosive stainless steel and features characteristics that make it ideal for pedestrian bridge barriers. These include robustness, durability and longevity, as well as very low maintenance needs.

These features enable the creation of bridge barriers that can withstand the elements and last a long time with minimal interference, while meeting all requirements for loads and safety. This includes compliance with bridge code AS5100.2.

The material also has the ability to accommodate large spans without supporting posts and doesn’t require a subframe. This can save money on the cost of materials, especially compared to heavier, more traditional fencing materials.

In addition, Webnet boasts:

Flexibility

Fencing materials such as glass or weldmesh are rigid but Webnet has high malleability that allows it to adapt to virtually any geometric shape. This makes the material highly suited to barriers that need to curve, twist, bend or turn corners.

The Christopher Cassaniti Bridge (formerly the Lachlan’s Line Bridge) in Sydney is a prime example. This bright blue steel footbridge has a helical-shaped curving design, which meant any safety screen installed needed to be very flexible and adaptive.

Webnet proved to be the ideal material for this. Creating the barrier was a complex process, but the result speaks for itself.

Transparency

Webnet has an open area of over 80%, which makes it highly transparent. This means it won’t block views or impose on a structure’s design, and it also allows for plenty of natural light and airflow.

The Bundanon footbridge in NSW strongly demonstrates Webnet’s transparency. This bridge is unusual in that is part of a museum and is embedded into a hillside. As such it was crucial that any safety barrier would allow for views of the surrounding landscape as much as possible.

For this barrier we used 80mm Webnet, which created a highly lightweight transparent screen. You can see the results here.

Sustainability and resilience

Sustainability was embedded into the whole design of the Bundanon project, along with resilience to natural disasters.

Webnet is ideal for projects that have sustainability and resilience goals. The material is made from 70% recycled content in facilities that run on 90-100% renewable energy, and it can be recycled after use. It also has in-built anti-corrosion and fire-resistance.

Customisation

Webnet is customisable, in terms of panel size, framing, colour, aperture size and shape, wire rope diameter and more.

The Elizabeth Quay footbridge over the river in Perth required a customised and modular barrier. The Webnet for this safety screen was first sized into sections, designed to match the bridge’s snake-like curves. The pieces were then joined together to create two continuous pieces.

The bridge with its barrier in place looks pretty spectacular, and offers pedestrians and cyclists safe travel.

Quick to install

Being a light, flexible and adaptive material makes Webnet very quick to install when used for barrier projects, with installations often only taking a matter of weeks.

With many bridge projects, the safety screen can also be pre-installed to the bridge off-site. This was the approach we took for the Emu Plains Railway pedestrian bridge, which saved time and helped minimise disruptions. Check out the completed structure here.

To find out more about bridge and barrier solutions for urban safety, please call us today!