Scaffold types
What is a pavement gantry?
A pavement gantry is a scaffold structure spanning a footpath, carrying a protected walkway beneath and often a working platform above.
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<img src="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk/glossary/pavement-gantry/diagram.svg" alt="pavement gantry — scaffold diagram from ScaffoldOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
<figcaption>
<a href="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk/glossary/pavement-gantry">What is a pavement gantry?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk">ScaffoldOptix</a>
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</figure>It keeps a footway open under a working scaffold, which is frequently a condition of the licence to occupy the highway at all.
Because the public walks underneath, the deck above them has to be sealed against anything falling, and the structure has to take vehicle impact into account where it sits near a carriageway.
Gantries almost always involve a highway authority licence, so the programme depends on permission as much as on construction.
What goes wrong on site
- Deck not sealed, so debris can pass through onto the public below.
- Erected without the highway licence in place.
- Headroom and width below reduced below what the licence requires.