concrete concepts

CONCRETE – THE RESPONSIBLE CHOICE

09
thermal mass

impact-resistance

durability

strength

fire-resistance

flexibility

fast build-times

low-risk

energy-efficient
above and left: New concrete Adelong Bridge
low-maintenance bottom: Old timber bridge

non-toxic
termite-proof
cost-effective
Adelong Bridge Replacement Project
client: NSW Roads and Maritime Services (formerly RTA)
principal contractor: Nelmac
n Total project cost $8 million
n Completed December 2010
n 62 metre-long, four-span, reinforced concrete bridge
(replacing two adjoining century old timber bridges)
n Designed for 1 in 50 year flood event, with a 100-year
design life
Concrete meets the
challenge of replacing
old infrastructure with
new, Adelong, NSW
Although relatively small in scale, the Adelong Bridge
Replacement Project is an example of how modern
concrete construction techniques can be cost
effectively adopted to replace aging or obsolescent
infrastructure, particularly in regional Australia.
In this case, a new 62-metre reinforced concrete
bridge – four spans of 15.5 metres each – has
been constructed in the southern NSW township of
Adelong, replacing the existing Adelong Creek and
Adelong Flood Channel timber bridges built at the
turn of the last century.
The timber bridges had well and truly passed their
serviceable life, particularly in terms of the increasing
freight task on the corridor. In short, they no longer
met community expectations in terms of safety or
performance.

A simple, effective
and environmentally
sensitive concrete solution
The new bridge comprises a
substructure of reinforced
concrete pier columns and
headstocks, and a superstructure
of reinforced concrete deck slab
supported by pre-stressed
concrete (PSC) plank girders.
The bridge deck has an asphalt
wearing course, and a concrete
walkway with street lighting. The
lighting columns are supported
in elegant concrete pedestals
situated on the outside facade of
the bridge.
The replacement bridge was
designed to sit low within the
creek corridor. The continuous
refined edge of the bridge was
emphasised as the main visual
form, providing an elegant
horizontal line across the creek
landscape.
The bridge substructure was
designed as an integrated
squared pier and headstock so as
not to distract from the simple yet
refined line of the outside edge of
the bridge.
Economy and performance of
concrete
One of the fundamental drivers for
replacing old timber bridges with
concrete is the cost and difficulty
of sourcing suitable hardwood.
Additionally, timber bridges
have a not insignificant ongoing
maintenance requirement.
For the new Adelong Bridge,
voided PSC planks with sacrificial
formwork were used in preference
to inverted Tee PSC planks. This
meant fewer units were required
overall and even less maintenance
in the longer term.
The new bridge was designed
for submergence during flood. It
included holding down brackets
tying the PSC planks to the
headstocks.
During construction, the new
bridge stood up to a 1 in 100
year flood, with water overtopping
the bridge deck. Once the
water subsided, the then newly
constructed southbound half
of the bridge was opened for
traffic across the creek when the
fill between the existing timber
bridges was destroyed by the
flood.
An efficient construction
methodology
The contractor, Nelmac, adopted a
piling methodology
that saw holes drilled through
the existing bridge decks before
demolition. Driving of steel casings
and pile excavation was then
carried out to sub-surface rock
through these holes in the decks,
the holes capped and the bridges
reopened to traffic.
With the piling in place, the new
bridge was constructed in two
halves – the first stage involving
closure of the upstream half of the
existing timber bridges to traffic,
then demolishing this old section
and constructing the upstream half
of the new. This enabled traffic to
continue using the downstream
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section of the old bridges. Once
the upstream half was completed,
the process was reversed.
The PSC planks were erected on
the bridge with minimal double-
handling and traffic disruption.
Trucks delivered two planks at a
time, with the planks typically lifted
www.ccaa.com.au/sustainability
and erected on the headstocks
within a 10-minute timeframe.
The use of a concrete wall (instead
of sheet piling) for shoring was
effective in preventing the vertical
edge of the existing abutments
from collapsing during excavation
of the first half of these abutments.
In addition, concrete injection
between rock boulders at the
bridge abutments has improved
erosion protection from future flood
events.
Key features of the construction
solution:
n Substructure – reinforced
concrete pier columns and
headstocks
n Superstructure – reinforced
concrete deck slab on voided
pre-stressed concrete plank
girders
n Two-metre wide concrete
walkway
n New bridge completed in two
halves, allowing continued
(restricted) traffic access during
construction.
left to right:
Piling through existing bridge deck
Deck slab construction
Exclusion net installation
Since the information provided is intended for general guidance
only and in no way replaces the services of professional
consultants on particular projects, no legal liability can be accepted
by Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia for its use.
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