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Engineering excellence recognition for Melbourne’s Swan Street bridge

Photo by Seymour Whyte

Melbourne’s Swan Street bridge has won the 2019 Victoria Civil Contractors Federation Earth Awards Category five (for projects between 30-70 million).

The project was joint between the Victorian Government and Seymour Whyte, which included the design and construction of the bridge.

It involved ensuring the aesthetics of the heritage structure were retained while incorporating a cantilevered four-metre shared user path on either side of the bridge with protruding tapered steel fins.

Works included the demolition of the existing outer beams and then reinstating those with stronger precast beams, the introduction of a water sensitive urban design drainage system to treat bridge run-off and the relocation of a major gas pipeline.

Courtney Hoops, Seymour Whyte Operations Manager, Victoria said it was a huge honour to receive the award for engineering excellence.

“Our team introduced an innovative solution that mitigated a number of challenges to widen both sides of the original bridge structure.”

The team’s solution minimised reliance on the older structure enabling a faster construction phase and providing an opportunity to enhance the visual appearance of the connection between the steel fins and new outer beams.

“In doing so, we were also able to perform most of the works from barges located on the river, minimising the need for traffic management and further disruption to the traffic network.”

The original bridge opened in 1952 during the infrastructure surge in the lead up to the Melbourne Olympics.


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