Foundation pile drilling is now complete on the Seymour-Avenel Road site marking a major milestone in the delivery of Inland Rail and the end of the pile drilling process at the first four Victorian sites.
56 piles have been drilled and filled with concrete and will form the foundation of the new Seymour-Avenel Road bridge.
Each pile is approximately 15m deep and 1m wide and will support the substructure of the bridge, including the pile cap, blade walls and bridge beams.
Once the material is excavated, a steel cage is inserted and roughly 15m³ of concrete is poured.
A 130t piling rig completed the drilling of the 56 piles in three weeks.
Inland Rail Program Delivery Director B2A, Ed Walker, said that the completion of the underground foundation work marks an important milestone in the delivery of the first four Tranche 1 sites.
“Barnawartha North and Glenrowan sites are almost finished and Wangaratta and Seymour-Avenel Road are progressing well,” Mr Walker said.
“The contract to build the eight remaining Victorian sites will be awarded in June and work will begin next year.”
McConnell Dowell Seymour-Avenel Road Area Manager, Kelvin Kumangai, said that this is an important milestone for the Seymour Avenel Road Bridge and the Inland Rail project as it is the last site on Tranche 1 to complete piling works.
“The focus now shifts to building the bridge structure out of the ground, at a new raised height to provide clearance for double-stacked trains.”
Featured image: Piling work at the Seymour-Avenel Road site. Image credit: Inland rail.
