Captain Cook Bridge Refurbishment Works

Abstract

The Captain Cook Bridge (CCB) opened in 1973 and is the most trafficked bridge in Queensland with over 150,000 vehicles travelling daily. The bridge carries approximately 50% more load than what it was designed for nearly 50 years ago, which is why the state government has invested $26 million into the CCB Rehabilitation project. The Captain Cook Bridge (CCB) is two separate bridge structures (north and southbound) formed of an arched concrete cantilever bridge with drop in panels spanning across the Brisbane River. The bridge is located at the northern end of the Pacific Motorway at the southern end of the Riverside Expressway in Brisbane city. Each bridge has four traffic lanes with limited shoulder on each side of the bridge. The CCB refurbishment project involves three major work activities; installation of a temporary work platform, strengthening the halving joints, and bearing works, to ensure the functionality of the busiest bridge in Queensland for future years. A summary of the key project requirements includes: • Installation of two temporary work platforms underneath the bridge • Eight halving joints consisting of 48 box girder webs to strengthen: o 64 reinforcing, formwork and concrete locations o 25 tonnes of reinforcing o 150 cubic metres of special blend concrete o 608 post-tensioned bars • Replacement of 6 bearings: o 500 tonne jacks x 4 to lift the bridge o two weekend complete closures/detours. Over 18 months the project team delivered these construction activities, working in confined spaces varying from 0.5m to 3.5m in height, with all materials to be manually transported into the structure. The majority of the works were repeatable processes providing an opportunity to identify improvements to maximise productivity and use of resources according to the LEAN methodology. The project team implemented LEAN strategies to reduce rework, share knowledge, break-down silos, collaborate and innovate. To ensure the functionality of the busiest bridge in Queensland for future years, the project team has overcome many unique and varied project challenges.