Arnold River Bridge

This included raising the existing abutments to allow for the new design, surface treating the tops of the existing bridge beams and retrofitting the existing guardrail back onto the new deck panels.

The project required three different configurations of deck panels to be constructed, 29 panels in total.

To ensure the consistency of our panels, we fabricated steel moulds in our engineering workshop, allowing us to produce a high-quality product throughout the pre-casting process. We poured four panels per pour to ensure we met timeframes and had sufficient curing time prior to installation.

A road closure was organised and advertised to allow for the installation process over a period of 1 month.

We installed a full deck of scaffold to the structure during this time, stripped all existing deck panels from the bridge using our telehandler and a purpose-built lifting frame. We encapsulated, abrasively blasted, then coated the tops of the steel beams. In consultation with the Council, we also spot blasted and coated some minor defective areas appearing on the beams.

After completing this work, we went on to install the deck panels, carrying out all drilling for shear bolts, in-situ jointing and grouting of pockets and installation of Emseal joints. All the above tasks were carried out internally by Liddell staff, with the assistance of Pierson Scaffold.

As the height of the abutments needs to increase to allow new design, Paul Smith Earthmoving was engaged to carry out the required earthworks at both ends of the bridge to increase approach road level highest to suit the raised abutment headwalls. The final stage of the project was to fully seal the new approaches and deck panels to ensure a long, maintenance-free lifespan.