Musgrave River Bridge

Scope

Davbridge Constructions was engaged by the Department of Transport and Main Roads to build the new Musgrave River Bridge at Yarraden on Cape York, delivered as two contracts for the piling and the concrete bridge works. The project involved building a new six span, dual carriageway bridge, 90 m long and 10 m wide. The foundations comprised 21 steel lined bored piles, 900 mm in diameter, with 122.7 m of steel liner. The works then covered an in situ reinforced concrete substructure with pier and abutment headstocks, erection of 96 PSC deck and kerb units, each 14.95 m long and 650 mm deep, transversely stressed across all six spans, and the in situ kerbs and relieving slabs. In total the project used about 288 m³ of in situ concrete and 56 t of reinforcing steel, with 192 hold down bolts and 34 bearings. The project presented challenges such as the remote location, 448 km north of Cairns, which required careful planning of plant, materials and crews for both contracts. Located on Cape York in Far North Queensland, this remote project demonstrated Davbridge Constructions' ability to deliver bridge infrastructure for the state road authority while maintaining environmental, community and safety standards.