Bridges

The South Road Superway is a building block in the South Australian Government’s 78 km long Adelaide North South corridor which will eventually deliver a high-speed transport network to speed up already congested freight movements through Adelaide’s western suburbs. The $825 million project is the largest investment in road infrastructure in South Australia and will deliver a 4.8 km long, free-flow expressway standard section of the corridor.The project includes a 2.8 km long match cast segmental viaduct which carries up to eight lanes of traffic above the existing South Road. The viaduct features striking curved piers, a 12 m clearance to the soffit and spans ranging from 50 m to 83 m. Deck articulation is provided by mid-span needle beam joints – the first use of this type of joint in Australia.The paper provides an overview of the project from the tender design phase through detailed design and construction focussing on design challenges and solutions which were required to deliver this stunning piece of infrastructure.