Two of the three new bridges to be installed at Broadford, Victoria as part of the Inland Rail project have been lifted into place, during a “highly co-ordinated” early morning operation.
Inland Rail is building higher bridges and lowering the railway tracks at Hamilton Street and Short Street in Broadford to create enough clearance for double-stacked freight trains to use the line.
Construction partner John Holland coordinated both bridge lifts during a 15-hour closure of the rail corridor in the early hours of Monday October 27.
Made-up of 38 girders and assembled onsite, the new Short Street bridge is 36 meters long, weighs approximately 265 tonnes and was lifted into place by a 650-tonne crawler crane.
The old Short Street Bridge will be demolished when the new bridge is completed next year.
At Hamilton Street, five 35-metre girders weighing approximately 40 tonnes each were lifted into place by a 750-tonne mobile crane, to form the backbone of the new bridge.
During the track closure, Inland Rail also carried out site establishment and signalling work at the Hume Freeway sites at Tallarook and Seymour.
Scott Anderson, Inland Rail Acting Delivery Director Beveridge to Albury said the eight remaining Inland Rail sites in Victoria are a “hive of activity” and the bridge lifts at Broadford marked a major milestone for the project.
“There’s still plenty of work to do before we can open the bridges to the community, but it’s a big step forward to have the girders installed,” he said.
“The team carried out the bridge installs in the early hours to minimise the disruption to the local community.
“We thank the community for their patience and cooperation as we carry out the work required to successfully deliver Inland Rail.”
