EIC Activities’ structures, construction engineering and temporary works team was engaged by CPB Contractors to provide a solution for the Dynon Road Bridge widening, as part of the West Gate Tunnel project.
There were many constraints involved, given that 15 railway lines run underneath the spans and the road is a major feeder to the Melbourne CBD from the Northwest.
Many of the crane lifts required could not be performed from any other position than the bridge deck.
The EIC team assessed the bridge structure to understand its capacity for loads, and then determined the appropriate crane positions and associated temporary works required to carry out the widening and transport the up to 200T loads over the bridge.
EIC’s expert advice helped the project team to safely proceed with the complex work of widening the bridge structure on time, and within the necessary constraints involved with working so close to live rail lines and busy traffic.
About the project
CIMIC Group company CPB Contractors was selected by Transurban and the State Government of Victoria as the preferred contractor for the West Gate Tunnel project, in a 50:50 joint venture with John Holland.
The West Gate Tunnel project, one of Victoria’s largest ever urban road projects, will deliver a vital alternative to the West Gate Bridge, provide quicker and safer journeys, and remove thousands of trucks from residential streets.
The Dynon Street Bridge widening is a critical piece of infrastructure for Melbourne and will help create better access for drivers between Melbourne’s west, the city and the north.
The project is also building an adjacent footbridge to improve safety by taking cyclists and pedestrians off the road bridge.
Scope of EIC’s involvement
EIC Activities was engaged to provide an extensive construction methods assessment given the complexity of the proposed works. There were many constraints for the works due to 15 major rail lines running under the structure, and further construction operational constraints and restrictions such as not being able to lift or boom over the live rail lines.
The team’s experts provided the following services:
- Support significant construction planning to schedule the works with the road and rail occupations undertaken
- Determine crane positions and demolition/construction methods
- Assess the existing structure to understand capacity for construction loads
- Support selection of plant (cranes), loading and transport arrangements to be within the assessed capacity of the existing bridge
- Temporary Works design as required
- Construction supervision
- Support the project team with technical advice to ensure the performance of the structure included As-Built assessment, and pre- and post-condition assessments to ensure no adverse impact to the existing structures
- Liaise with asset owners and stakeholders to ensure matters raised were addressed.
Construction Engineering and Temporary Works at EIC Activities
EIC Activities is a trusted delivery partner for Construction Engineering and Temporary Works Design.
Our structures and construction engineering team has strong in-house capability specialising in the design and engineering of temporary works solutions and methods for construction projects.
We understand the constraints of construction and always work with projects teams to integrate the sequencing of the project and the temporary works solutions into the permanent solutions.