Motorway Gallery

Tower top JLP01_09_871160

SEVERN BRIDGE, M48, AUST, SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE. A Laing worker standing on a platform at the top of the Aust tower of the Severn Bridge while shielding his eyes from the sun.
The original design and construction of the Severn Bridge had under estimated the increased volume of traffic since its completion in 1966 and whilst built to last 120 years it was found to require remedial work after just 20. Laing Industrial Engineering & Construction won the £29.5m contract from the Department of Transport and strengthening work on all elements of the structure began in May 1987. The project was completed in April 1990 in the same year that Laing jointly won the contract for the construction of the second Severn Crossing that would take the traffic pressure off the first bridge and extend its lifespan even further.
The photograph was taken during strengthening work undertaken by Laing. It was published in the December 1990 issue of Team Spirit, the Laing company newsletter. The view shows the deck of the bridge below stretching out towards the South Wales landscape

© Historic England Archive

Subsurfacing JLP01_08_060686

Stafford, Staffordshire. A view of the construction of the Birmingham to Preston Motorway (M6), showing a team of workers laying dry lean concrete to the north of the Section B office, with a Laing lorry and road paver in the foreground.
The work on the Birmingham to Preston Motorway (M6), between junctions J13 to J16 started in June 1960 and was carried out by John Laing Construction Ltd. Section B was 6 1/2 miles in length between Whitgreave and Beech

© Historic England Archive. John Laing Photographic Collection

Joining deck units JLP01_11_60071_08

Second Severn Crossing, M4 Motorway, New Passage, Pilning and Severn Beach, South Gloucestershire. A view looking west from the top of a bridge pylon during the construction of the Second Severn Crossing, showing a space awaiting a deck unit to connect the sections of the bridge and Wales with England.
The Second Severn Crossing took four years to build and was a joint civil engineering project between Laing Civil Engineering and the French company GTM. The work started in April 1992 and the opening ceremony later took place on 5th June 1996. The crossing is a cable-stayed bridge which stretches over 5000 metres across the River Severn, 3 miles downstream from the Severn Bridge which opened in 1966

© Historic England Archive. John Laing Photographic Collection