09:04 pm, Friday 3 September, 2010

Complications with the demolition of the bridge in Canberra has led to delays in the reopening of Barton Highway.

A span of the Gungahlin Drive bridge crashed on August 14 during a concrete pour, where nine construction workers were hurt.

An engineering report was released stating the formwork was not properly braced to stop girders from moving sideways during the concrete pour.

The original plan by Roads ACT was to open the highway this weekend.

However, spokesman Tony Gill said the date of reopening has been pushed back.

“They’ve encountered some difficulties in demolishing the concrete bridge that was poured and didn’t collapse,” said Mr Gill.

“They’ve had to change tack and it will delay the demolition process by about five days.”

According to Mr Gill, Barton Highway will hopefully be reopened on September 11.

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06:18 pm, Monday 30 August, 2010

The demolition of Canberra’s bridge on Barton Highway is on schedule and could be open to traffic at the end of the week.

Roads ACT said workers are removing the rubble caused by the bridge collapse around the clock.

The bridge crashed on August 14 during a concrete pour, where nine construction worker were injured.

An engineering report was released saying the formwork was not braced properly to prevent girders from moving sideways while concrete was being poured.

According to Roads ACT spokesman Tony Gill, demolition work was performed over the weekend.

“The estimate is that we will take between five and seven days depending on the progress and depending on some of the difficulties they encounter when they are trying to protect the existing structure because some of the structure can be salvaged,” he said.

“The concrete pier in the median and the bridge abutment on either side, they can be salvaged. So they just have to be careful how they do the demolition in that area.”

However, Mr Gill has cautioned that demolition has to be done carefully since WorkSafe ACT is still collecting evidence from the construction site.

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02:23 pm, Thursday 26 August, 2010

The bridge collapse across Barton Highway in Canberra was a result of improper support of the project’s formwork, an engineer’s report says.

Concrete pouring was being performed when the bridge collapsed on August 14. Nine workers were injured in the construction accident.

The engineer’s report, which was prepared for Roads ACT, revealed the formwork was not braced to stop the girders moving sideways while concrete was being poured. This led to excessive stress on the structure.

ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope said he will not make any comment on the report until Worksafe completes its inspection.

ACT Work Safety Commissioner Mark McCabe said an investigation will be conducted while the bridge is being demolished.

“We have identified points in the demolition where it will need to stop, we’ll need to collect some of the material that’s there and take it away for analysis and consideration,” he said.

“The real evidence that we need is probably lying on the roadway underneath all of that mess.”

The head contractor for the project released a statement accepting the findings in the report.

“We are also holding our own internal inquiry into our processes to make sure nothing like this ever happens again,” the statement said.

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11:49 am, Monday 16 August, 2010

Nine construction workers have been injured on Saturday after the bridge in Canberra they were working on partially collapsed.

The nine workers were taken to the hospital, although their injuries were described as non-life threatening.

Concrete was being poured on a span of bridge over the Barton Highway. It was closed to traffic when the incident occurred.

ACT WorkCover is investigating the bridge collapse.

According to ACT Roads spokesman Tony Gill, the road can be reopened when the debris is cleared away.

“Our initial advice is that it could take up to two weeks before we are in a position to remove the debris and get the road open for public use,” Mr Gill said.

“We are getting an independent engineer’s report just to get an understanding of how the bridge collapsed and secondly we need to engage a demolition contractor to remove the debris.

“But we also have to make sure it is safe for that demolition contractor to go in and remove the debris.”

In light of the incident, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) is calling for work in formwork structures to be halted on certain sites.

“We will be conducting inspections of the formwork and safety procedures throughout Canberra,” CFMEU’s Dean Hall said.

ACT WorkSafe’s Mark McCabe believes it is not necessary to stop work in construction sites.

“I would certainly think that all businesses should be having a good look at that kind of work before they proceed,” he said.

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