Piling work has started for the new Victoria Street Bridge in the Australian city of Parkes.
The Victoria Street bridge is one of two new bridges being built as part of the US$120 million Parkes Bypass Project. Ther other bridge will take bypass traffic over Hartigan Avenue and rail lines.
The plan by Transport for New South Wales involves a new 10.5km bypass on the western outskirts of Parkes, a town of around 11,000 people in the central-west region of New South Wales state. The bypass is part of the $333 million Newell Highway upgrade programme to support the interstate freight industry with a vital uncongested transport corridor in New South Wales.
The upgrade involves relocating the highway about 2km west, between Maguire Road to the north and Barkers Road to the south - a total length of 10.5km. Transport NSW says the bypass will remove up to 1,200 trucks per day from local streets in Parkes.
Damien Pfeiffer, acting regional director west for Transport for NSW, said the piling was a key step in the Victoria Street bridge project. Once it is finished, it would allow construction work to start on the two abutments that will support the bridge.
“This work will consist of six piles per abutment and the aim is to drill, install the reinforcement and concrete two piles each day,” said Pfeiffer.
The 46m-long Victoria Street Bridge will comprise six concrete girders, 146 tonnes of steel reinforcement and 500m³ of concrete. Construction will take one year.
The Parkes Bypass is part of a record investment of $1.09 billion from the Australian and NSW governments to improve safety, freight productivity and travel times on the Newell Highway between the Victorian and Queensland borders.
