Team battles extreme heat to finish repairs on the Edith River Rail Bridge
On the back of the emergency clean-up from the freight train derailment on the Edith River Rail Bridge, McMahon Services was awarded additional works to repair sections of the damaged structure.
Working in extreme heat and high humidity, the project team removed one span of the damaged bridge by replacing two 30 metre 55 tonne girders, which required trains to cease for seven days.
Firstly the rail and ballast was removed and the deck then cut in halves to separate the two girders, including the existing concrete deck.
To lift the existing girders in Span 1 and place the new girders in, an access crane pad was constructed in the flowing river bed.
The crane pad consisted of 7,500 tonnes of rubble and 2,500 tonnes of rock to support a dual lift using a 250 tonne crawler crane and 250 tonne hydraulic crane.
The span was repaired by installing two new girders and then casting a new concrete deck and pre-cast ballast kerbing before replacing the ballast and rail to ensure the trains were running again within the seven day shutdown.
To deliver the challenging works within the tight timeframe, detailed planning was required – a testament to the demolition team that mobilised from Adelaide to the Northern Territory to complete the job.
