The New Elvet Bridge is an elegant, balanced cantilever reinforced concrete bridge built over the River Wear, Durham in 1975. It was designed by Durham County Council Engineer John Tully and cost £500,000 to build.
Over the years, the original silane treatment had yellowed the concrete to a more or less uniform shade. As part of its restoration in 2006, it was decided to clean the concrete, returning it to concrete grey. However, it soon become apparent that Durham's population actually liked the colour the bridge had become.
To overcome objection to the change in colour that is inevitable when undertaking concrete repairs, Epicuro's Colour Hydrophobic-BridgeGuard was specified for protection of the concrete to the EN1504-2 standard. Contrasting tints were used, a matching yellow for the bulk of the structure and a dark sand brown for the parapet edges.
After nearly 40 years it is still the new 'New Elvet Bridge, and always will be. This is because it sits adjacent to the original Elvet Bridge, built in 1160, during the time of the Durham's Bishop Prince, Hugh de Puiset.