Westquay Shopping Centre

EKSPAN was appointed to deliver essential structural remediation and bearing works at Westquay Shopping Centre, one of Southampton’s most prominent retail destinations.

The project focused on the investigation, design, and replacement of defective bridge bearings supporting the shopping centre structure. With the asset in continuous daily use by thousands of visitors, EKSPAN was required to deliver all works with zero disruption to customer experience and full pedestrian access maintained throughout.

This scheme formed a key part of the client’s long-term structural maintenance strategy to safeguard the integrity, longevity, and performance of the centre’s supporting infrastructure.

Project Scope

EKSPAN’s multi-disciplinary scope included:

Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) including advanced bearing investigations
Design of temporary works to enable safe and controlled jacking of the structure
Verification and strengthening of transverse beams to allow jacking operations
Replacement of permanent uplift bearings with new high-performance systems
Scaffolding and access design & installation
Traffic and pedestrian management across live public areas
Paint repairs to the existing structure following completion

Project Challenges

Delivering complex structural works in a live shopping centre environment required meticulous planning and precision execution.

Key challenges included:

Maintaining full public access throughout the programme, requiring careful sequencing, controlled working areas, and sensitive interface management.
Structural strengthening requirements identified during the ECI stage, necessitating detailed design verification of transverse beams before jacking could proceed.
Acting as Principal Contractor, EKSPAN managed all on-site activities, including access, temporary works, safety management, and coordination of multiple disciplines ensuring the scheme progressed safely and efficiently.

Highlights

Zero operational disruption: The shopping centre remained fully open to the public, with no reduction in customer access or experience.
Successful delivery of critical structural upgrades, ensuring long-term performance and reliability of the asset.
Effective ECI involvement, enabling early identification of structural issues and ensuring solutions were engineered before construction commenced.
Strong collaboration between EKSPAN teams on-site including engineering, temporary works, jacking, and H&S management resulting in seamless project delivery, on time and on budget.

Project Impact

Following initial investigations, EKSPAN identified defective bearings requiring full replacement to maintain the structural integrity of the centre.

The completed works have:

Restored the performance and safety of the shopping centre structure
Provided a long-term uplift bearing solution designed to meet future loading and movement requirements
Extended the asset’s service life through structural repairs and paint protection
Ensured the shopping centre can continue operating safely and efficiently for years to come.

Summary

The Westquay Shopping Centre project showcases EKSPAN’s ability to deliver complex structural engineering works within highly sensitive, public-facing environments. Through early involvement, robust design, precision execution, and seamless site coordination, EKSPAN successfully replaced critical structural bearings while keeping one of the region’s busiest retail centres fully operational throughout.

This project reinforces our capability as a trusted Principal Contractor for specialist bearing works, temporary works design, and structural refurbishment within live infrastructure environments.

Download the case study

CONTACT US

Have a question or need assistance? The EKSPAN team is here to help!