Students at Belfast’s Queen’s University complete first life-size Meccano bridge

Students and academics from Queen’s University’s School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering, working with local schoolchildren, have built a 14m Meccano bridge across Belfast’s Clarendon Dock.

The Guinness world recording breaking bridge is the longest structure to ever be made from the construction toy. It has been built from 11,000 pieces of Meccano, held together with 60,000 nuts, bolts and washers.

Weighing just 600kg, the lightweight bridge can support the weight of a human, and several members of staff and students walked across at its grand opening. 

Talking about the bridge, Grand Designs presenter, Kevin McCloud, said: “I was excited to see what must be the first life-size Meccano bridge in the world. An exemplary feat of engineering. Congratulations!”

The temporary structure is the result of a year-long project as part of the Queen’s University’s outreach programme to encourage more children to think about careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects.

Danny McPolin, senior structures lecturer at Queen’s School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering, told Construction Manager: “Principally this was about education. We were trying to do something inspirational for our students. By working with Meccano we went back to engineering first principles.

The lightweight bridge can support the weight of a human

The project was a real educational exercise that 20 students were marked on, McPolin explains: “The project was deigned by third year civil engineering students. First we measured the tensile strength of the individual pieces in the lab, then designed various models, to evaluate the different concepts. It was clear due to the length of the span that it had to be a cable stay bridge. The cables are actually Meccano as well, so it is 100% Meccano.”  

McPolin adds that the project has also been a great way to promote engineering and construction: “With a growing skills shortage, we hope that our work will encourage more children to consider the study of civil engineering and other STEM subjects at university level”.

Aecom, along with contractor McLaughlin & Harvey, delivered technical advice to the students, as well as assisting with the construction and installation of the bridge.

Speaking to Construction Manager, Paul McCormick, managing director of highways & bridges, Europe & India at Aecom, commented: “Exciting opportunities such as this show young people that they can be the next wave of engineers designing the skyscrapers and bridges that will make up the landscape of the future. Most importantly, we are trying to combat the misconception that engineering is about muddy boots and hands covered in oil – it’s about using real brain power to make the world a better place.

“One of the main challenges throughout the project was the transportation of the bridge between Queen’s University, Mallusk – where our warehouse was – and Clarendon Dock.

The bridge was built first in a warehouse

“We had it all built in a warehouse first to test it and make sure it would work effectively before the open day and the official award of the record, as Queen’s only had room for half of the structure to be constructed in their structural Lab. So taking it apart and trying to put it back together without damaging the pieces was a struggle as individually all the pieces of Meccano are very weak.

“To do this we had to separate the deck into three separate pieces and transport it onto site along with the towers. On site we built it next to the dock so that a crane – with a lifting beam – could lift the whole bridge into position. The ground next to the dock was very uneven – which we didn’t account for- so half a day was spent surveying the ground and ensuring that the boxes that the deck was constructed on were all level.”

The project was funded by the Northern Irish Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure as well as Aecom, Meccano and the Queen’s Annual Fund.

Carál Ní Chuilín, minister of culture, arts and leisure, said: “This innovative project underlines the importance of creativity in design and the built environment. It also gives many young people the opportunity to sample a career in civil engineering. 

“While underlining the importance of the creative industries, the Meccano bridge shows what can happen when we take new approaches and look for innovative solutions. While this initiative is as much about the journey as the destination, to end with a new world record would be a fantastic achievement. It would truly reflect the efforts of all those who have taken an unusual idea and turned into a creative reality.”

One of the main challenges throughout the project was the transportation of the bridge