Works are ramping up on the Clyde Road Upgrade with crews starting widening works on the bridge over the Princes Freeway.
Expanding the bridge from six lanes to 10 lanes, which includes new turning lanes on and off the freeway and improved bus access, crews will start work to build the bridge foundations and end supports from 17 February.
“The Clyde Road Upgrade is ramping up with bridgeworks beginning to take shape,” Major Road Projects Victoria Program Director Brendan Pauwels said.
“We’re starting works this month to widen the bridge over the Princes Freeway, as we begin the biggest part of the project to create the wider bridge to help ease congestion.”
To ensure a strong and stable foundation for the wider bridge, crews will drill bore holes up to 17 metres deep, roughly as tall as a four-storey building, before filling them with reinforced concrete.
This method of bridge construction helps to minimise noise and vibration impacts, making for less disruption to the local community while we’re working on the foundations.
From there the towering 5.6 metre centre median wall will take shape, as the biggest piece of the project.
Once these works are completed, the project will begin installing 14 bridge beams – each 74 metres long and weighing approximately 48 tonnes – to build the main superstructure of the bridge.
The Clyde Road Upgrade has been busy completing early works over recent months – with works on underground utilities nearing completion as well as the removal of the centre median and installing temporary asphalt and line marking.
These measures help to keep two lanes of traffic flowing on the Clyde Road Upgrade to minimise delays.
Preparations to build the new northbound lanes on Clyde Road have also started. Temporary safety barriers are now in place between the freeway and Kangan Drive, allowing crews to work safely with minimal disruption to traffic flow.
The relocation of underground utility services, including telecommunications, internet, water and gas protection is expected to wrap up in the next few months, with 80 per cent of this work now complete.
If you’d like to learn more about the project, the team will be hosting a free sausage sizzle in Buchanan Park in Berwick on Saturday 29 March. For more information visit: bigbuild.vic.gov.au/events
