May 1, 2014
Construction is well underway on the replacement for Moloneys Bridge at Chahpingah which was washed off its foundations during the 2013 floods.
Acting Mayor Keith Campbell and project staff visited the contractor on site at Hodges Dip Road recently to inspect progress on the piling work.
Kay Associates, from the Sunshine Coast, won the tender with an innovative precast deck unit design, supported on bored reinforced concrete piles.
The old Moloneys Bridge has now been removed and the timbers sent away for recycling.
The new bridge will have three spans and is designed to fit in with the existing road. It will be at the same height and on the same alignment as the old bridge.
The 750 mm diameter piles will be drilled two metres into the rock to protect the bridge from lifting during future floods.
“The contractor has his work cut out in drilling the rock sockets into very hard granite rock,” Cr Campbell said.
“The rock is so hard in places that the drilling rig was only able to drill approximately 100mm an hour.”
The piles are constructed using hollow steel liners driven into the stream bed until they reach rock. The rock sockets are then drilled out, reinforcing steel cages are inserted and the piles filled with high strength concrete.
Meanwhile, the deck units are being manufactured at a pre-casting facility and will be transported to site by truck for installation this month.
Council says the new bridge is on track for completion by the end of June.
“Although the low-level side track has held up well to date, the new Moloneys Bridge will restore a long-awaited secure access for the community heading into future wet seasons,” Cr Campbell said.
[UPDATED]
(Photo: Briony Hoare)
