Houghton Highway Bridge Duplication
Joint Venture: JF Hull Holdings & Albem Operations
Contract Value: $235M
This project involved the construction of a new 2.753km bridge between Brisbane and Redcliffe, with the new bridge located 35m east of the existing Houghton Highway Bridge. The new bridge features three traffic lanes, a pedestrian/cycle path and a dedicated fishing platform. It was designed to withstand a 1 in 2000 year storm event and was the first of its type built in Australia, reflecting lessons learned when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf of Mexico in 2005.
The project was undertaken by a Joint Venture between J.F Hull Holdings and Albem Operations. Months of careful planning were put in to ensure very tight construction time frames were achieved, including the design of a 400m falsework bridge to provide access out over the bay independent of water depths and tides, headstock side form and soffits able to be stripped in one piece, purchase of backup pile driving hammer to reduce down time from machine breakdown. This contributed to the project achieving a construction cycle time of 4 days per span.
Key features of this project include:
- Construction of Australia’s longest bridge, 2.753km long consisting of 78 x 35.3m long spans
- 8 girders per span, each weighing approximately 81t, supporting a deck of 18.9m wide, providing three traffic lanes and a 4.5m wide footpath
- Foundations composed of bored pile/steel liner construction with structural capacity in excess of 1425t each
- Two significant fishing platform structures constructed
- Refurbishment of the existing concrete bridge
- Demolition of the existing 2.75km long timber Hornibrook bridge, constructed in the 1930’s
- Work located within Moreton Bay Marine Park, required specific environmental measures to be put in place to minimise impact
- Traffic disturbance seen as biggest impact on the local community. Detailed Traffic Control Plans put in place to ensure safety to all during construction, reclamation works and permanent and temporary diversions.
This project was awarded the 2012 Queensland CCF Earth Awards Category 5 (projects > $75M) for excellence in civil construction.
