Scaffold gantries for safe access below
A gantry is a scaffold that carries the works above while leaving a clear, protected route underneath. Shop doorways, pavements, driveways, delivery bays and site haul routes all have to keep running. Rather than close them, you build over them. That means the structure has to be designed for what passes below as well as what sits on top.
Engineered
We design and install gantries across London, Essex and Hertfordshire, with engineering input on every one. Recent examples include a gantry scaffold with hoist and temporary roof at Queen Anne's Gate in Westminster, an access tower over the pedestrian walkway on Tooting High Street, and a gantry over the public walkway at Highbury Place.
What you get
- Designed and engineered for the loads
- Double boarded deck over the route below
- Headroom set for pedestrians or vehicles
- Temporary lighting, hoarding and signage fitted
- Debris netting and containment where needed
- Highway and pavement licences applied for
The detail
How we approach scaffold gantries for safe access below
Engineered for the right loads
A gantry carries its own weight, the working lifts above it, materials and plant, and wind. Where vehicles pass beneath, impact has to be considered too. Every gantry we build is designed for the actual loads and the actual clearance, not assumed off a table. Get the headroom or the beam spans wrong and the whole thing has to come down again.
Protection for people passing under
Gantry decks are double boarded so nothing dropped from above reaches the route below. Depending on the location we add debris netting, hoarding to control where people walk, temporary lighting so the covered section is not a dark tunnel, and signage. On a busy high street that detail is the difference between a route people use and one they step into the road to avoid.
Licences and permissions handled
A gantry over a footway or highway needs a licence from the local authority before it goes up, and boroughs vary in what they want and how long they take. We make the application, supply the drawings and insurance details they ask for, and keep the paperwork with the job. Where the site sits on a red route or a bus route, that gets flagged at survey.
FAQs
Questions about scaffold gantries for safe access below
It depends on the site. Pedestrian routes and vehicle routes need different clearances, and the local authority may set a minimum as a condition of the licence. We measure the ground levels, agree the clearance you need for what has to pass through, and design the beam arrangement around it. That is settled at the site visit.
That is usually the whole point of building one. We keep entrances clear, board the deck out so nothing can fall through, and add lighting and hoarding so customers can still see and reach the door. Erection and dismantling can be arranged around trading hours where the licence conditions allow.
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