THE new bridge across the Nambucca River is an essential part of the $830 million Warrell Creek to Nambucca Heads Pacific Highway upgrade.
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It is situated 1.2 kilometres east of the existing bridge and at 850 metres long, will also span the soft soils of the northern floodplain thus helping to minimise flood impacts on Macksville and nearby properties.
The bridge will consist of 21 spans, each about 40 metres long, supported by 20 piers with seven located in the river.
Each pier consists of two columns, meaning there are a total of 40 columns.
In total there are 60 piles, which consist of 56 steel *tubular piles and four *cast-in-place concrete piles. These are drilled into solid rock some 30 metres deep to support the new bridge.
The volume of concrete used in the construction of the bridge is about 17,500 cubic metres.
84 girders weighing between 145 and 158 tonnes will be used to make the bridge.
No pedestrian access is provided on the new bridge. Pedestrians can continue to use the existing Macksville Bridge to cross the river.
The new crossing of the Nambucca River is due to open at the end of 2017.
- Tubular piles: are advantageous because the soil displaced by driving the piles compresses the surrounding soil, resulting in greater friction against the sides of the piles, thus increasing their load-bearing capacity
- Cast in place: eliminates the need for pile driving machinery
Information courtesy of Roads and Maritime Services, NSW
