Behm’s Creek Bridge Replacement, Jacob’s Well

Behm’s Creek Bridge Replacement, Jacob’s Well, SE Qld (2016 – 2017)

This was a $7m project which required removal of an existing bridge, installation of a major side-track with a temporary bridge and construction of a new bridge and approaches. The bridge is located along Stapylton-Jacobs Well Rd over Behm’s Creek, between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. The project purpose was to replace the existing aging bridge and upgrade the road and pavement to better suit the surrounding low-lying wetlands environment. The client was the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR).

Scope of Work

Temporary side-track
Heavy steel temporary bridge
Traffic management
Earthworks
Piling works
Bridge structure
Pavements
Bitumen & asphalt surfacing
Landscaping

Notable Aspects

The original design of the project intended road closure during bridge replacement. However, after community consultation, a new design was enacted to install a temporary bridge and side-track, to avoid lengthy travel delays for residents & commuters
Detailed traffic and construction stage planning
The temporary bridge utilised was a pre-used “Unibridge”, as provided by TMR – however, its fabrication & installation became quite complicated, as it had been dismantled and packed away un-labelled and lacking any instructions whatsoever for re-fabrication. Our site team worked diligently to achieve timely fabrication, erection and structural certification
Sheet pile coffer dams were required for abutment works
Foam Bitumen pavement works
Careful management of weather impacts was required throughout, including during the extreme weather event of Cyclone Debbie in March 2017, to mitigate time & cost impacts
The site team achieved the productive consultation & management of multiple stakeholders and the community, with minimal issues
Productive, collaborative working, on the run, was required with TMR throughout, to explore and achieve the required re-designs for various issues encountered
SGQ worked particularly closely to re-design the side-tracking that was introduced post-award. The side-track dimensions, layout geometry, bridging, pavement thicknesses and overall logistics were all optimised, minimising time & cost impacts
SGQ also re-deployed personnel & resources away from the works during the re-design phase
Value engineering options identified by SGQ included the following adopted measures:
- Design refinements of side-track and temporary bridge
- Changed construction method to adopt latest specification for foam bitumen stabilised pavements
- Changes to the seal design to counter heavy rainfalls