The Ennerdale Bridges won the much covertried Structural Steel design award in 1997. The bridges consist of two counter – weighted bascule bridges crossing the River Hull. The bridge lifting mechanism is powered by eight large hydraulic cylinders weighing around eight tons, each unit is housed in a purpose built room beneath the bridge. The control of the hydraulics is from a remote desk in the operator's control tower. Command, control and monitoring are networked to dual redundant PLC’s.
The PLC system provides acceleration and speed profile control to minimise lift times. It also monitors wind loading and compensates accordingly for windage factors.