New Sir Leo Hielscher Bridge opens six months ahead of schedule
Source: Leighton - www.leightoncontractors.com.au
07 June 2010
The Leighton Abigroup Joint
Venture (LAJV) has completed construction of Brisbane’s new Sir Leo
Hielscher Bridge six months ahead of schedule, with the new bridge
opening to traffic on 24 May.
The official opening and naming of the new bridge was celebrated with a
Community Day on Sunday, May 16, with thousands of Queenslanders taking
the opportunity to walk across the new 1.6km bridge.
Like its twin, the second Gateway Bridge has been named in honour of Sir
Leo Hielscher: a long-serving Queensland public servant.
Attending the official naming ceremony on May 16 were Leighton
Contractors Managing Director, Peter McMorrow and Abigroup Managing
Director, David Jurd. Both agreed their respective companies were
extremely proud to be part of the Joint Venture that has designed and
constructed this critical north-south connection over the Brisbane
River.
Mr McMorrow said the completion of the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridge is a
significant milestone for the project team.
“We are delighted to deliver the new bridge six months ahead of
schedule, an achievement we can attribute to the expertise of our design
and construction teams and to production efficiencies associated with
the construction methods we employed.
“It took five and a half years to construct the original Gateway Bridge
but thanks to modern construction methods such as the use of match
casting of bridge segments for the approach span, the new bridge was
completed in three and a half years.
“We are proud to be working in partnership with the Queensland
Government and Queensland Motorways to deliver much needed bridge and
road infrastructure improvements that provide significant benefits to
motorists, businesses and the broader community in South East
Queensland,” Mr McMorrow said.
Abigroup Managing Director David Jurd said the new
Sir Leo Hielscher Bridge is the centrepiece of the $2.12 billion Gateway
Upgrade Project which has been progressively delivered over the past few
years.
“So far the Leighton Abigroup Joint Venture has delivered seven
kilometres of new motorway north of the Brisbane River, the second
iconic Sir Leo Hielscher Bridge and most recently, twelve kilometres of
upgrades of the Gateway Motorway between Lytton Road and Mt
Gravatt-Capalaba Road,”, Mr Jurd said.
The Joint Venture has also recently been awarded an additional 4km of
motorway upgrade south of Mt Gravatt-Capalaba Road.
“These additional works, which include the widening of the motorway from
four to six-lanes between Mt Gravatt-Capalaba Road and Miles Platting
Road and improvements to the Mt Gravatt-Capalaba Road interchange, are
well underway with construction due for completion in mid 2011,” Mr Jurd
said.
The new Sir Leo Hielscher Bridge initially opened to four southbound
lanes, with all six lanes scheduled to be opened to traffic in August.
The second bridge has been
constructed 50m downstream from the existing Sir Leo Hielscher Bridge
and has the same distinctive shape, determined in part by the 80m air
traffic requirement and the 57m nautical or shipping clearance
requirement - a narrow envelope in which to construct a long bridge.
Like its twin, the new bridge stands at 64.5m at its highest point over
the Brisbane River but the new bridge is wider - 27m compared to 22m.
This is to accommodate a shared pedestrian and cycle way which features
four rest areas offering a place to relax and take in the views west to
Brisbane City and east to Moreton Bay.
A different construction methodology has been used to accommodate the
extra width. Rather than a single box girder design, the new bridge uses
a twin box girder system.
The 750m northern approach and 350m southern approach spans were built
using a segmental match-casting method while the balanced cantilever
260m main span and 130m side spans were built using a cast in-situ
construction method.
The two main piers were constructed utilising purpose-built islands in
the Brisbane River. Now that bridge construction is completed the rock
islands will be re-positioned with the rock used to create arrester
islands around the main piers of both the new and existing Gateway
bridges.
The bridge is constructed on 17 piers, ranging in height from 17m to
54m. Around 157,000 tonnes of concrete and 11,600 tonnes of reinforced
steel have been used to complete the bridge’s superstructure and
substructure.
Refurbishment work on the existing bridge has now commenced. During the
refurbishment three lanes will remain open during peak times with the
refurbishment works expected to be completed in six months.
The Gateway Upgrade Project is a Queensland Government initiative being
delivered by Queensland Motorways with design and construction by the
Leighton Abigroup Joint Venture.