Concrete girders make 400km journey for the $220m New Dubbo Bridge project

New Dubbo Bridge

New Dubbo Bridge, Newcastle, NSW,

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The first few concrete girders have made their 400km journey from Newcastle to Dubbo for the new $220m New Dubbo Bridge that will span 660m.

With piling work progressing well for the New Dubbo Bridge, the focus has shifted to the considerable task of moving thousands of tonnes of concrete that make up the precast beams to support the new bridge – which will span 660 metres. 

Transport for NSW Regional Director West Alistair Lunn said the first of the girders, so large only one girder fits on each truck, have made the 400-kilometre journey from Newcastle to Dubbo where they will be added to the structure that will become the new $220.2 million bridge across the Macquarie River. 

“Altogether,123 girders will be delivered to the site between now and August 2024, weather permitting,” Mr Lunn said.

“Each girder weighs 60 tonnes and is 34 metres long, such a significant size that it will require a journey on a prime mover as part of a convoy to escort it safely.

“The planning for these monster movements has been taking place for months to ensure this road cargo is transported as safely, smoothly and efficiently as possible.”

Once each truck has made the journey from Newcastle, travelled west along the Golden Highway and arrived in Dubbo, a crane is then used to retrieve the girders from the trucks and place them into storage.

“There are several small bridges and tight turns to navigate along the route, including at Dunedoo where the pilot vehicle needs to stop traffic to coordinate getting the load around the tight corner safely,” Mr Lunn said.

“We’ve planned these journeys to minimise the impact on road users during the next year of carefully planned trips.”

Each convoy consists of a truck between 38 and 45 metres in length, with escort vehicles to ensure the journeys run as smoothly and safely as possible.

“At this stage, we expect to be placing the girders onto the bridge structure from late 2023, weather permitting,” Mr Lunn said.

The New Dubbo Bridge is being jointly funded by the Australian and NSW governments and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026.

Source: © Transport for NSW 2023

Image source: © Transport for NSW 2023

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