An engineer involved in building Brisbane’s newest pedestrian bridge reveals the secrets of its construction.
Since the installation of the original Victoria Bridge in 1865, 15 major bridges have been constructed across the meandering Brisbane River. The latest of these, completed in 2023 and opening to the public later this year, is the Neville Bonner Bridge.
Named after Australia’s first Indigenous parliamentarian, the pedestrian-only bridge runs parallel to two other existing bridges connecting the CBD to South Bank.
Robert West CPEng, Senior Specialist — Structures at WSP, told create the project was unusual in many ways, but nonetheless proved a success due to the collaborative relationship between the design and construction partners.
The project featured WSP as the principal structural consultant and Fitzgerald Constructions Australia as specialist construction partner, with Grimshaw as the architect.
The bridge was constructed for Destination Brisbane Consortium as part of the $3.6B Queen’s Wharf Brisbane integrated resort development.
“The end result was very consistent with the analysis models,” West explained. “That was in no small part due to the collaboration between Fitzgerald and WSP.”
Learn more about the unconventional build process below.
Featuring infographic design by Heath Dunn.
A very nice infographic, great for use in the general media. However as it is published in an engineering e-magazine. It really should have details that would interest a structural engineer. I was hoping to see plans, elevations, sections, information on thermal expansion, support bearings, differential settlement, maintenance planning etc etc.
Sadly I have seen too much dumbing down in engineering design indicating lack of comprehension of the fundamental engineering principles and also a lack of focus on economical design.
Something to consider.
Couldn’t agree more.
The article was written by a journalist!
Why was a very large component taken from the site and redelivered much later?