New South Wales

Bolivia Hill New England Highway Balanced Cantilever Bridge and Road Upgrade

  • Client

    Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW)

  • Sector

    Roads & Bridges

  • Service

    : Engineering & Construction

  • Expertise

    Complex Bridge Structure, Roads

The New England Highway Upgrade presented significant challenges due to its remote location and challenging terrain. Our work involved constructing a 320-metre reinforced concrete box girder bridge, utilising balanced cantilever and post-tensioned construction methods. The bridge, comprising 61 concrete segments, was designed to span 150 metres over environmentally protected areas. We implemented an innovative in-situ concrete placement approach to minimise the construction footprint, as opposed to using precast box girders. To further protect these sensitive areas, we constructed a narrow access track and crane platform at the piers.

Our team also managed the intricate setup of plant equipment, including cranes and concrete pumps, requiring innovative design solutions to maintain large radius clearances. The project entailed the complex recovery of the formwork traveller system using four large cranes. Notably, the bridge is recognised as the steepest balanced cantilever bridge in Australia, with an 8.2% grade and a 40-degree slope rising 42 metres. This challenging grade pushed us to innovate beyond traditional construction methods, implementing critical fail-safe controls for formwork systems, advanced recovery techniques, and optimised concrete placement strategies.