GHD provided Durability Assurance as part of design and
construction support for the 100 year design life, with review to
extend to 150 years. Opened on 17 December 2006, the Eleanor
Schonell Bridge is Australia’s first bus, cycle and pedestrian-only
bridge. It links Brisbane’s Southern suburbs and the St Lucia
campus of the University of Queensland. GHD provided structural and
civil design for the AUD55M project for Brisbane City Council.
The cable-stayed steel composite structure is only the third of
its kind to be built in Australia and is an impressive 520 metres
long, with a 185-metre main span. The harp configured support
cables are suspended from two reinforced concrete towers rising 70
metres above the river. This landmark infrastructure project
features a number of environmentally sustainable design elements,
including bio-retention ponds to control the quality of water
run-off, minimal use of refill from off-site sources and a bridge
alignment that has saved a number of native trees.
The Materials Technology Durability Assurance Plan was required
to demonstrated how the design life of 100 years for the Bridge
would be achieved. Providing durability at the design stage
contributes to reduced maintenance costs, risk of failure and
downtime whilst increasing safety, service and performance.
The concept design, environmental information and detailed
design were assessed. The quality and suitability of all processes
and materials involved in the production of the final end product
were evaluated.
Potential durability issues were highlighted. Requirements to
achieve the design life were incorporated into final design,
material supply specifications, method statements and process
control procedures. Work included, inter alia, mix design
and chloride diffusion prediction for tidal concrete, heat of
hydration and early age thermal crack modeling for pile caps and
piers, coating selection for all metallic components, shrinkage
modeling and joint width assessment for deck concrete,
assessment of replacement/maintenance intervals and
methodologies.