ABOVE: The main part of Cedar Point Bridge is lifted into place. Photo: Kyogle Council
It wasn’t easy to lift the 30 metre long steel centre truss of the Cedar Point Bridge and lower it into place.
Two massive cranes did the heavy lifting yesterday, Wednesday, July 27.
Composite fibreglass technology was used to construct the central deck span which consisted of 26 prefabricated panels weighing between 89kg-280kg.
Crane pads (constructed of rock and gravel) had to be replaced twice, because the February/March floods washed away the layers or buried them under 600mm of silt.
Truss components were delivered piecemeal to the site with assembly taking three-four weeks.
A local engineering firm welded the spigot connections on the top chord of the truss to complete the assembly.
The composite fibre panels were fitted before the truss was lifted into place. The truss and deck panels weighed 46.9 tonnes.
The contractors building the bridge have had to wait a while to place the central truss because of the saturation of the ground from the unseasonably high rain and flooding events.
There was a risk of a landslip so workers had to wait for the soil to dry before the ground could be loaded with the cranage needed to lift the central truss.
It was a meticulous and advanced dual lift with a 100t crawler and a 150t crawler on opposite sides of the river. These cranes lifted the span onto the supports with great dexterity and precision.
Yesterday, as well as the central span, precast girders were also lifted into place.
The girders were precast in Toowoomba and were then freighted to the site. Each span (bar the central truss span) consisted of four girders – weighing between 11.8 and 12.6 tonne each.
The remaining spans will be built out of concrete.
Work on the bridge is expected to be completed by the end of August.
Other bridges
Work continues on new bridges on Lynches Creek Rd, Campbells Rd, Bingeebeebra Rd, and Castilles Rd and on bridge to pipe projects on Wiangaree Back Rd and Ferndale Rd.
Grading crews are continuing with flood damage repairs on Collins Creek Rd and Hootons Rd and are finishing up on Studders Lane. The Studders Lane crew will then move to Collins Creek Rd to follow the drainage crew.
Flood damage drainage repair crews are working on McLellands Rd and Boomi Creek Rd.
Another crew is constructing an access track to allow Geotech drilling rigs to access Geneva Bridge so design work can start on the Geneva Bridge landslip. This drainage crew will then move to the Ettrick/Sextonville area.
Council is patching potholes on Clarence Way and Summerland Way. Next on the priority list are Bentley Rd and Kyogle Rd.
The road construction crews are working on Hootons Rd, Sextonville Rd, Theresa Creek Rd and Mallanganee Range on the Bruxner Highway. Theresa Creek Rd is expected to be sealed on Saturday.
Lions Road remains closed north of Murphy Standfield’s culvert to the border.
Information provided by Kyogle Council.
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