The Port Road bridge at South Road in South Australia is set to open ahead of schedule, which marks another major milestone in the North-South Corridor, Torrens Road to River Torrens Project.
Significant traffic restrictions will be in place as preparations are made to switch traffic to the new bridge.
This switch will also see the new northbound surface road on South Road completed between Port Road and Henry Street.
The new bridge will also pave the way for the next stage of the project’s ‘big dig’ – the excavation of 350,000m³ of material to enable the construction of the 3km non-stop lowered motorway.
It’s the second bridge to open as part of the $896 million project with the Grange Road bridge opened in November 2016. Both bridges are being delivered ahead of schedule.
The excavation under the Port Road bridge is expected to be completed by mid-2017.
The bridge deck pour used 2,760m³ of concrete and 580 tonnes of steel reinforcement using high quality billet from Arrium, Whyalla.
The Port Road bridge is made up of:
- 66 x 0.9m diameter piles
- 23 x 30.2m long concrete beams, weighing between 57 and 64 tonnes per beam
- 2,760m³ of concrete
- 580 tonnes of steel reinforcement
- 7,000m³ excavation
- 2,000m2 bridge deck
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Stephen Mullighan said, “This massive infrastructure project is supporting around 480 South Australian jobs each year in a variety of roles such as civil and formwork construction workers, site supervisors, project engineers, safety professionals, administrative professionals, and trainees and apprentices.
“It will also deliver significant benefits to tens of thousands of freight operators, commuters and other motorists, and when it is complete it will cater for up to 115,000 vehicles each day.”
Mr Mullighan said the intersection of Port and South roads is one of six sets of traffic lights which will be bypassed by the new lowered motorway removing delays and obstacles to the more than 52,000 vehicles which currently use the road.
“The transfer of traffic on to the Port Road bridge marks another significant milestone for the Torrens to Torrens project with the completion of the second bridge to be built as part of the project.
“It will allow for excavation to continue on the three-kilometre lowered motorway, which will be up to eight metres below the existing surface of South Road, and will form part of the four kilometres of non-stop roadway between Croydon Park and Torrensville,” Mr Mullighan said.
