Published Monday, 11 August, 2008 at 05:49 PM
JOINT STATEMENT
Premier
The Honourable Anna Bligh
Minister for Main Roads and Local Government
The Honourable Warren Pitt
800 tonne gantry supports construction of the second Gateway Bridge
Work has commenced on a massive 800 tonne launching gantry on to new sections of the second Gateway Bridge, signalling yet another milestone towards completion of the project.
Premier Anna Bligh said the 165 metre-long bright blue launching gantry will dominate the landscape standing 12 metres above the new bridge deck and will be used for the bridge’s northern approach.
“The Gateway Bridge continues to take shape over the Brisbane skyline and this is a major milestone for the project,” she said.
“This congestion busting bridge duplication is becoming a reality as motorists watch from the existing bridge.”
The huge gantry will consist of two massive steel trusses standing side-by-side with two 200 tonne-capacity hoists lifting pre-made concrete segments up to 60 metres from the ground to create the deck of the new bridge.
Most of the launching gantry’s components were designed and fabricated especially for construction of the new Gateway Bridge.
The launching gantry is being lifted in sections onto piers using a 600 tonne crawler crane, one of only three such cranes in the country.
The gantry will take almost a month to commission after which it will begin lifting concrete segments at a rate of about 20 segments per week.
Almost 18 months into construction, all piers on the second Gateway Bridge’s northern banks, together with the two main river piers, are nearing completion.
Two bridge spans on the northern banks of the Brisbane River have already been constructed using cranes, however the launching gantry will construct the spans nearest the river which are too high for a crawler crane to reach.
In addition to the second Gateway Bridge, Queensland Motorways was delivering 12 kilometres of upgrades to the motorway between Mt Gravatt-Capalaba Road and Lytton Road in the south and seven kilometres of new motorway north from the bridge to Nudgee Road including a second access to the Brisbane airport.
Queensland Motorways Chief Executive Officer Phil Mumford said that motorists were already benefiting from the opening of four southbound lanes between the Port of Brisbane Motorway and Wynnum Road and a new realigned Port of Brisbane onramp.
“We will continue these progressive openings throughout the project,” Mr Mumford said.
The new six-lane section north from the Gateway bridges to a new airport interchange and then to Nudgee Road will be open in mid 2009.
Upgrades south of the Brisbane River will be completed by the end of 2009. The second Gateway Bridge will be complete by mid 2010, followed by refurbishment under traffic of the existing Gateway Bridge. The entire project will be complete by early 2011.
The project was three months ahead of schedule before construction even commenced following Queensland Motorways approval of match-casting for construction of the approach spans of the second Gateway Bridge.
Premiers (07) 32244500; Minister Pitt’s Office 3227 8819
Premier Anna Bligh said the 165 metre-long bright blue launching gantry will dominate the landscape standing 12 metres above the new bridge deck and will be used for the bridge’s northern approach.
“The Gateway Bridge continues to take shape over the Brisbane skyline and this is a major milestone for the project,” she said.
“This congestion busting bridge duplication is becoming a reality as motorists watch from the existing bridge.”
The huge gantry will consist of two massive steel trusses standing side-by-side with two 200 tonne-capacity hoists lifting pre-made concrete segments up to 60 metres from the ground to create the deck of the new bridge.
Most of the launching gantry’s components were designed and fabricated especially for construction of the new Gateway Bridge.
The launching gantry is being lifted in sections onto piers using a 600 tonne crawler crane, one of only three such cranes in the country.
The gantry will take almost a month to commission after which it will begin lifting concrete segments at a rate of about 20 segments per week.
Almost 18 months into construction, all piers on the second Gateway Bridge’s northern banks, together with the two main river piers, are nearing completion.
Two bridge spans on the northern banks of the Brisbane River have already been constructed using cranes, however the launching gantry will construct the spans nearest the river which are too high for a crawler crane to reach.
In addition to the second Gateway Bridge, Queensland Motorways was delivering 12 kilometres of upgrades to the motorway between Mt Gravatt-Capalaba Road and Lytton Road in the south and seven kilometres of new motorway north from the bridge to Nudgee Road including a second access to the Brisbane airport.
Queensland Motorways Chief Executive Officer Phil Mumford said that motorists were already benefiting from the opening of four southbound lanes between the Port of Brisbane Motorway and Wynnum Road and a new realigned Port of Brisbane onramp.
“We will continue these progressive openings throughout the project,” Mr Mumford said.
The new six-lane section north from the Gateway bridges to a new airport interchange and then to Nudgee Road will be open in mid 2009.
Upgrades south of the Brisbane River will be completed by the end of 2009. The second Gateway Bridge will be complete by mid 2010, followed by refurbishment under traffic of the existing Gateway Bridge. The entire project will be complete by early 2011.
The project was three months ahead of schedule before construction even commenced following Queensland Motorways approval of match-casting for construction of the approach spans of the second Gateway Bridge.
Premiers (07) 32244500; Minister Pitt’s Office 3227 8819