The first of three dozen piers that will one day support the new Bridgewater Bridge has been poured this week.
Made up of 100m3 of concrete, each ‘massive’ pier weighs around 267 tonnes – and there’s 42 to be built.
Each pier is constructed using a mould custom-built by BridgePro Engineering in Latrobe.
The $786 million build is the biggest transport infrastructure project in Tasmanian history and is on track to be completed by the end of 2024.
The new 1km, four-lane bridge built downstream the existing bridge will include new interchanges at Granton and Bridgewater along with a safe shared path for cyclists and pedestrians.
The bridge will also include a free-flowing access from the Brooker Highway to the Lyell Highway, a direct connection from Bridgewater onto the new bridge and a roundabout at the bottom of Old Main Road in Bridgewater that will help improve bus access through the area.
A new roundabout will link to the Black Snake Road underpass with a dedicated slip lane to allow traffic from Lyell Highway to flow uninterrupted onto the Brooker Highway.
The existing bridge structure will remain open until the new bridge is completed and opened to traffic, but it will be decommissioned due to its poor condition and growing maintenance cost.
