CEMENTED IN HISTORY

The coveted Mandurah Bridge Replacement Project caused another major upset last night, beating Acciona and Lendlease to take out the National Award for Excellence in Construction at the 2019 Awards for Excellence in Concrete.

Image for CEMENTED IN HISTORY

The coveted Mandurah Bridge Replacement Project caused another major upset last night, beating Acciona and Lendlease to take out the National Award for Excellence in Construction at the 2019 Awards for Excellence in Concrete.

Shortlisted in the infrastructure category – which recognises stellar examples of how concrete has contributed to communities and built environments – the latest award is the seventh won by the project in the past year.

The bridge was up against:

  • Bridge over Clarence River at Harwood (Acciona Ferrovial JV)
  • Bringelly Road Bridge (Lendlease Engineering)
  • Sydney Metro Northwest Surface and Viaduct Contract (Salini Impregilo)
  • Tramway Shared Path and Seawall Project (Wollongong City Council)
  • Our very own Ellenbrook Water Tank (Georgiou/BG&E)
  • South Metropolitan TAFE (Airey Taylor Consulting, Armstrong Parkin Architects, Delta Corporation, EMCO Builders)
  • Parramatta Road Ventilation Facility (CPB Contractors/John Holland/Samsung C&T Corporation and AEH JV)
  • City Suburu Multilevel Carpark (PARKD Ltd).

What makes this project unique is that it is curved in three planes – horizontal curve aligning the bridge from east to west, vertical curve to give bridge clearance to vessels and the soffit curve for pleasing aesthetics. Additionally, the 243.5 metre long bridge was incrementally launched across the Mandurah Estuary, was comprised of reinforced concrete piers on reinforced concrete pile caps and supported by reinforced concrete piles.

Plus the team utilised supplementary cementitious materials to improve the durability performance of the concrete in the marine environment which included:

  • Low heat cement in the substructure where early strength development is not a priority; and
  • Silica fume (8%) in the superstructure concrete to provide the required performance without compromising on early strength development (which is vital for minimising cycle times).

Combined with the re-purposing of the original bridge materials into fishing platforms and recycling of materials to avoid landfill, the bridge was a standout.

Congratulations to the entire project team who delivered this project. Another great accolade to add to the trophy cabinet.