Dawson River Bridge Upgrade
Joint Venture: Bielby Holdings & JFHull Holdings
Contract Value: $9.7M
The Dawson River Bridge upgrade consisted of the replacement of the existing low level bridge to reduce the impact of flooding on the community and adjacent coal mine. A new 6 span bridge, of which the superstructure only was part of the contract, was built at a significantly higher level than the existing crossing. Included in the works were the bridge approaches and significant intersection upgrades to accommodate the road trains servicing the coal mine.
Key features of this project include:
- Each span consisted of 15 no. 20m long PSC deck units, with a 200mm thick deck slab
- River prone to regular flooding
- Bridge and road approach upgrades to accommodate for increase in size and frequency of road trains servicing the coal mine
- Project team worked closely with local community and coal mine management to ensure construction caused minimal delays
- Additional temporary access for school children, neighbouring community and mine workers allowed for during flood events, as bridge was only river access without utilising a 3 hr detour
- Erosion and sediment controls were paramount during construction as site sloped toward the environmentally sensitive Dawson River
- Major environmental risk was flooding during construction. Site team managed through forward planning and keeping on top of house keeping and sediment/erosion control measures
- Access had to be maintained through the intersection upgrades for both travelling public and road trains servicing the coal mine
