Bridges

Bridge engineers must develop design solutions that can be safely constructed and maintained. With technical skill, vision and collaboration we produce solutions that surprise and delight, accommodate complex ground conditions and geometries, develop construction staging to minimize impact on communities and provide practical interim solutions.

On Victoria Park Drive Modification Project in Western Australia, WA, access to the New Perth Stadium required construction of a new rail underpass adjacent to the widening, lengthening and upgrading of an existing rail underpass. The design solution was extensively informed by the required construction staging to accommodate traffic continuity throughout construction. Additional complexity arose from the geometrical and geotechnical requirements of construction within and beyond existing road embankments. The resulting bridges appear to sit simply within the landscape but hide a complexity of modifications to the original and new bridge structures and foundations.

Vehicle access to the island on Elizabeth Quay in WA is provided via a garden bridge. The project vision creates seamless access from the sinuous promenade resulting in a relatively short bridge with complex plan geometry. A practical solution was developed which incorporated standard bridge deck plank details with a complex deck edge and innovative garden bed details.

Fremantle rail bridge is located at the inland edge of Fremantle Port. Port vessels have struck and damaged the rail bridge on 2 occasions in recent years. Fremantle Traffic bridge is located directly upstream with narrow navigation channels which are not aligned with those of the rail bridge. Protection to the piers was improved by construction of independent dolphins to the port side which absorb energy by plastic deformation of the supporting piles. Poor geotechnical conditions, limited navigational channels which limited the size of the dolphins and the practicalities of construction within the busy waterway informed the solution developed in collaboration with key stakeholders.