Engineering

Move of Darlington bridge in Australia

The bridge in Darlington Adelaide was constructed offsite and transported down the highway and fitted into place1
The bridge in Darlington Adelaide was constructed offsite and transported down the highway and fitted into place1

The bridge in Darlington Adelaide was constructed offsite and transported down the highway and fitted into place.

It may look like any other highway but the Darlington bridge in Australia has just gone down in history as a great achievement in civil engineering. The Darlington Upgrade Project, which forms a major part of Adelaide’s North-South Corridor, comprises the upgrade of 3.3km of Main South Road. It includes a non-stop motorway between the Southern Expressway and Tonsley Boulevard requiring grade separations at five intersections.

In November, a key milestone in the project was delivered with the move of Bridge 2 from its construction compound to its final position over the Southern Expressway entrance. Essentially, the project team manufactured a 3,200-ton, 180m-long bridge in a compound adjacent to the site, then moved it 500m into position using SPMT equipment, which are designed for transporting massive structures. This was done with relatively little disruption to what is Adelaide’s busiest motorway.

SMEC, a member of the Surbana Jurong Group, is part of the Gateway South Consortium – comprising the Design Joint Venture (SMEC, Jacobs and KBR) and Construction Joint Venture (Fulton Hogan and Laing O’Rourke) – engaged to design and construct the Darlington Upgrade Project.

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