It's 2018 - Welcome to the first diary entry for the year.

BRIDGE UPDATE

It is several month's (October 2017) since I last updated the progress of the enormous new bridge which will carry the new dual-carriageway Pacific Highway across the Clarence River, some 9kms up-river from Yamba.

So yesterday morning at around 7 o'clock, on what was a beautiful clear summer's morn, I headed off and took the following series of pix.

Refer back to the October and August 2017 entries to follow the progress of the construction.

All images enlarge to full-size when clicked.

The above photos were taken from the same spot as two previous shots in October and August and look northward across the river. It is evident that all the piling work has been completed, the concrete piers and beams have been done for the northern approach and the construction of the piers in the river itself is well in hand.

Work on the southern approach has continued but emphasis has been on the northern side of the river.

Here on the southern side the concrete pilings are under construction.

 

The work which has progressed on the north side is most impressive, with the concrete columns and cross-beams now at the river's edge. In the distance you can see that installation of the huge longitudinal U-beams has commenced. These beams - each weighing over 100 tonnes - are manufactured on-site.

The steel brackets which project from the top of each column are used to anchor the form-work for the concrete cross-beams, which weigh 180 tonnes. The brackets, along with the stainless-steel ferrules into which they are bolted, are removed after the work is completed and the holes then filled with a composite mix.

The existing bridge - which will continue in use for local traffic (and which is being refurbished so that it will last for another 50+ years) - is dwarfed by one of the new "pi" structures.

(As soon as I saw the shape I was instantly reminded of the mathematical symbol for pi.)

I'll have another update in March.