Tides at Ross Canal had to be carefully considered as Redland City Council had very specific requirements regarding the height of the new bridge in relation to the waterline below.

The structure also needed to be designed in close collaboration with RPEQ Engineers – and be formally certified by them – due to its proximity to the adjacent road.

Construction of the bridge went smoothly. The only real challenge came during installation. We had to be very mindful of local traffic as a main road was situated right next to the site.

Council guidelines dictated the new bridge needed to be built in a way that would maintain a minimum distance to the waterline at all times. Satisfying this required some innovative and intelligent engineering to ensure the span was both structurally sound and be positioned safely above the waterline, regardless of the local tides and weather.

To minimise community disruptions, we also constructed the entire bridge off site in sections, before installing them quickly in just days.

Given there was an open road right beside the new bridge, we had to be very mindful of traffic risks. One lane was kept closed throughout the installation, to allow a safe environment for everyone involved.

We also implemented measures to prevent construction waste from accidentally entering the canal system during installation.

We had to be sensitive about the waterway below the bridge whilst installing it. We couldn’t impact the water or put any foreign elements into it that would damage it. Hence, why the bridge had to maintain a certain height from the top of the water at all times.

We managed this by roping off access to the water during the installation phase and ensuring everyone knew their boundaries of where they could and could not go.

The bridge was also constructed offsite in our factory and then transported to site to save impact on the environment over a long install period and also saved us time and effort onsite as well.