VolkerStevin invited students from Fulwell Junior School to visit its new high-level footbridge project, as part of a collaborative initiative that featured a design challenge aimed at encouraging creativity among the students.

The footbridge, which spans 250 metres, is part of a wider regeneration scheme which will connect the Vaux and Sheepfolds areas of the city, both of which are being spectacularly regenerated with hundreds of millions of pounds of investment. As part of the project, VolkerStevin has committed to various social value commitments, aligned with its People-Planet-Purpose sustainability framework to reinvest in Sunderland’s local community. This includes visiting schools, colleges, and universities to engage with young people, share information about this project and provide insights into the range of careers available in engineering and construction.

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Earlier this year, representatives from VolkerStevin visited Fulwell Junior School and gave an interactive presentation to the students in years 3 and 6 about the crossing and set them a challenge to design their own footbridge for Sunderland. Three groups were shortlisted by the school and visited the site as a reward for their hard work and creativity. During the site visit they undertook a design and ‘stress-test’ challenge, using Knex bridge building sets to see how their designs would hold up. The groups then presented their final ideas to engineers on site who had the difficult challenge of selecting a winning design.

All the pupils were then taken onto site to see the bridge in construction, and to bury a time capsule. In preparation for the event, VolkerStevin used foam concrete near the South Pier to create a cavity, where the capsule has been placed. A concrete lid will be placed on top before being covered with a layer of stronger concrete. The pupils chose the items they wanted to put in the time capsule to represent Sunderland in 2024. VolkerStevin also added items relating to the design and construction processes for the bridge and a Sunderland football shirt to pay homage to the city’s team, which plays just meters away from the bridge at the Stadium of Light.

Councillor Michael Butler, cabinet member for skills at Sunderland City Council, attended the event as the time capsule was buried. He said: “The new crossing will make an enormous difference to the city, better connecting both sides of the Wear, but it is brilliant that – even ahead of completion – we are seeing the benefit through programmes like this, that inspire young minds."