The final piece of the concrete puzzle has been completed for Tasmania’s largest-ever infrastructure project by its purpose-built facility north of Hobart.
Almost 1100 concrete deck segments, each weighing between 50 and 90 tonnes and measuring 15 metres-wide, have been produced by the precast facility at Bridgewater. The facility was specially established by the Tasmanian Government’s Department of Infrastructure and Transport 18 months ago.
At peak production, the precast concrete facility produced up to five segments a day and was so successful that [we reported] it would be expanded and extended beyond its scheduled end-of-2024-closure date to provide precast concrete for a large housing development.
Tasmania’s Infrastructure Minister, Kerry Vincent, who was once involved in the concrete industry, is overseeing the $786 million project. He enthusiastically revealed that 75% of the 1082 segments are already in place on the bridge and the remaining 25% will be installed in the first quarter of 2025.
“I do get excited every time I visit this side – as an old concrete chippy in previous lifetime,” he said. “It is fantastic to see this job coming together so smoothly.”
In addition to the bridge’s precast concrete segments, the 46 piles which make up the structure’s foundations were completed in July 2024, each 30 to 88 metres below the surface of the river it crosses. One of the piles is believed to be the largest-ever poured in Australia.
The Bridgewater Bridge will be 1.2km-long and feature four lanes for vehicles and a shared path for pedestrians and cyclists. The crossing over the Derwent River is expected to open next year.
About the author
Desi Corbett
Desi is the Editor of Concrete in Australia and at the helm of our magazine for 8 years. She was behind the Institute's weekly news bulletins from 2016-2021 and is now writing our focused news items. Desi has been an engineering news and features journalist/editor across all disciplines since 2013 - part of a 30-year career writing for a wide range of industries.