Bridges

Providing adequate road infrastructure for a growing population has become a common problem in major cities around the world. The $1.95B Ipswich Motorway Upgrade in South East Queensland is Australia’s largest road infrastructure Alliance solving one such problem. Origin Alliance, a team comprising the Department of Transport and Main Roads, two designers and three contractors were tasked with transforming an existing sub-standard four lane motorway into a modern, intelligent six-lane roadway with a future capacity for eight lanes using network-managed hard shoulder running. Only 8.5km long, the upgrade demanded the construction of 24 bridges – the majority of which were built in highly confined urban environments; two temporary bridges, 13 bridge demolitions and 72 permanent retaining walls - some hundred of metres long and up to 13m tall. The challenges on this project have been many and key amongst these has been the construction of bridges over mine voids, a series of signature footbridges, complex bridge demolitions (including arch and cable-stay structures) and an unprecedented level of temporary traffic management. This paper outlines complexities in the design and construction of the bridgeworks and the means by which works were planned and executed to guarantee the safety of the workforce and safe, reliable passage for up to 100,000 vehicles per day.