Historic suspension bridge refurbishment recognised in national awards
A project to refurbish the historic Menai Suspension Bridge has scooped a prestigious accolade in a national industry award ceremony which recognises outstanding bridge projects in the UK.
The project to permanently replace over 160 defective hangers on the iconic crossing which connects the island of Anglesey to mainland Wales was honoured with the Bridges Award for New Life in the 2025 Bridges Awards.
Organised by Bridge Engineering and Design Magazine, in partnership with Bridge Owners Forum, the awards took place at the Bridges Conference at the CBS Arena in Coventry, with the Bridges Award for New Life recognising an outstanding refurbishment, rehabilitation, reconstruction or repurposing project.
Lead contractor Spencer Bridge Engineering scooped the award for its work replace and paint 168 of the 208 wire rope hangers on the bridge, restoring the full structural integrity of the crossing and removing a critical risk to public safety.
Crucial link
Completed in 1826, the Grade 1 listed structure provides a crucial road link between mainland Wales and the Isle of Anglesey and is the second oldest suspension bridge in the world still in use for vehicle traffic.
In October 2022, the discovery of brittle hanger components resulted in the immediate and unplanned closure of the bridge, leading to a race against time to design and install emergency failsafes to allow reopening of the structure, which was successfully completed by Spencer Bridge Engineering in early 2023.
Following the emergency works, Spencer Bridge’s experienced teams were appointed to carry out the permanent replacement of the hangers on site to extremely tight tolerances and constraints, while maintaining live traffic throughout the project.
To respect the heritage and historic features of the bridge, the team worked closely with the hanger supplier, Fatzer AG, to create hangers and bespoke sockets to match the existing profile, while adhering to modern design codes.
Spencer Bridge Engineering Bridges Director Luke Fisher said: “We’re delighted to have been honoured with this award in recognition of our work to deliver such a pivotal project on this iconic bridge.
“With strong winds, wet weather and extremely tight constraints, this project posed a number of significant challenges, but I’m very proud of our teams who worked collaboratively and drew on our colleagues’ extensive and diverse skillset to develop solutions.
“As the bridge approaches its 200th anniversary next year, we’re proud to have played a key part in restoring this historic structure, so it can continue carrying traffic for many years to come.”
Collaboration
The project was delivered on behalf of UK Highways A55 Ltd, with Spencer Group also working in collaboration with lead Designer COWI.
The Bridges Awards judging panel for 2025 was chaired by José María Sánchez de Muniáin, Editor of Bridge Design and Engineering magazine, along with respected and independent bridge professionals from across the industry.
Presenting the award, the judges said: “This is an example of true engineering in emergency, developing novel solutions to difficult challenges – protecting and improving functionality of an iconic bridge without closing it.
“Ensuring the bridge is safe and then instigating installation of hangers in a trafficked environment is a huge achievement and the project was managed exemplary.”
The full list of award winners is available here.
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Wonderful recognition for a huge task in a crisis. To have lost our bridge just before its 200th birthday would have been criminal. The closure of the Suspension Bridge made people realise how vulnerable island life can be even when you can see the mainland so close at hand. The Britannia Bridge queues put substantial pressures on people’s work, education, shopping and social life.