Bridges

The Eumemmerring Creek Bridge is located on the Cranbourne Line, beyond Dandenong in Melbourne's southeast. The single-track rail bridge was opened to rail traffic on Feb 2022, duplicating the existing track, and forms part of the wider Cranbourne Line Upgrade (CLU) delivered by the Western Program Alliance (WPA) under the Level Crossing Removal Project (LXRP). Spanning over an environmentally sensitive waterway the design of the 63 m span steel truss rail bridge focussed on minimising disturbance to Eumemmerring Creek from design inception. With a favourable site configuration which would allow offline assembly of a steel truss, a launched construction method was adopted for detailed design development.

Such a construction method required close collaboration between WPA partners consisting of McConnell Dowell (Construction Partner) and Arup / Mott MacDonald (Design Partner JV) as well as with the temporary works designers to ensure total integration of the construction methodology within the permanent works design. In considering the construction methods, the permanent works design incorporated numerous novel aspects including bottom chord splice details, a precast concrete deck system which was utilised as ballast during the launch, and detailed space proofing at abutments to allow interaction of permanent and temporary bearings. In addition to the integration of the temporary works methodologies, the permanent works design addressed various technical challenges arising from site constraints, aesthetic considerations, futureproofing and code requirements to AS5100 and MTM (Metro Trains Melbourne) standards.

Furthermore, close stakeholder engagement throughout the design process allowed detailed consideration of ongoing operations and maintenance of the structure. This paper presents some key technical challenges associated with the permanent works design of the Eumemmerring Creek Bridge, discusses key aspects of the integration of the temporary works launching methods within this design and reflects on key stakeholder engagement processes and outcomes made possible through the collaborative delivery framework.