Bridges

The Waurn Ponds Duplication (WPD) project is part of the Geelong Line Upgrade which is within the wider Regional Rail Revival project delivered by Rail Projects Victoria (RPV). As part of this project, the heavily congested five-way roundabout at Fyans Street and associated level rail crossings were removed and replaced with an elevated rail bridge. The bridge form was required to achieve a 50 m clear span over the highly skewed realigned road. A steel through girder design was adopted, which could cater for the long span and have sufficient strength to allow for twin tracks on a single integrated superstructure. Concrete Super-T back spans were adopted on both approaches, allowing for increased open green space and improved urban design for the surrounding residential area.

Accelerated bridge construction (ABC) techniques were used to speed up construction and reduce construction risk during the time limited rail occupations. Precast components were maximised, which included column and crossheads, and self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT) were used to assemble the superstructure offline and then transport them into place under rail occupation.

This paper will discuss the technical aspects and design complexities encompassed in the solution including form and geometry, detailing aspects, articulation, girder restraint and structural buckling behaviour.