Bridges

Kings Way Bridge over Whiteman Street in Melbourne’s CBD, built in 1961, comprises a reinforced concrete (RC) deck supported by steel girders without composite connection. In November 2023, a large section of concrete deck soffit detached from the underside of the northbound deck and fell onto Whiteman Street below. The delaminated concrete section resulted from unseen corrosion of the bridge deck reinforcement.

This paper describes the initial investigation utilising UAV-mounted sounding methodology incorporating the NCX Mini (Part of DRONICTM Technology) to inspect the extent of the defect and assess the likelihood of potential further spalling of the deck concrete. It also outlines the initial incident response, investigation and the design and implementation of the permanent deck remediation work.

The Kings Way Bridge deck repair works involved significant design and construction challenges including the development of feasible and cost-effective design solutions and construction methodologies for the remediation of the deteriorated concrete against a requirement of needing the bridge to remain open in this busy CBD location.