Bridging the Gap with XLERPLATE®

Location:	Finke River, Northern Territory
Country:	Australia
Client:	Federal Government
Fabricator:	Park Engineers, Western Australia. OneSteel Metaland. Steelcon Constructions Darwin.
Products Used:	AS/NZS 3678 - 300 XLERPLATE® AS/NZS 3678 - 400 XLERPLATE®

Estimated at 150 million years old, the Northern Territory's Finke River is said to be the oldest river in the world. And it's just about to get a facelift. Scheduled for completion in February 2004, the new A$6.3 million Finke River Bridge is being constructed as part of the Federal Government's A$17.3 million programme to replace flood prone bridges on the Stuart Highway. A Western Australian company, Park Engineers, is supplying steel beams for the new bridge, located 130km south of Alice Springs.

The existing Finke River Bridge was built in 1969 and is part of the Stuart Highway. It's t he only road link between Alice Springs and South Australia, and is situated along the primary tourist route to Uluru. The old bridge has been submerged under floodwaters 13 times in the last 30 years, including a severe flood in February 2000, when the bridge was submerged for about a week. It is not unknown for the bridge deck to be six metres under water.

The construction of the new high level bridge and approaches will result in increased flood immunity, the increased width allowing it to meet new National Highway standards. The new bridge will also be able to carry heavier vehicles than its predecessor, which had been identified as substandard for the loads it was expected to carry.

Park Engineers are supplying 88 steel beams for the 250 metre long bridge, each weighing 3.6 tonnes and spanning 11.5 metres. "We were approached by our client, OneSteel Metaland, to fabricate the beams," says Paul Azzalini of Park Engineers. "The beams were completed in mid December 2003. The sections are being butt welded to 23 metre beams at Steelcon Constructions in Darwin, and then transported down to Alice for installation."

Park Engineers was founded in 1955 in Perth, WA. Recognized as one of Australia's leading structural steel fabricators, its workshop is the largest and most advanced in Australia, employing over 80 staff. Specialising mainly in structural steel fabrication and structural beam manufacture, Park Engineers has worked on many major contracts in WA, for projects such as the Argyle Diamond Mine, the BlueScope Steel DRI project and the Olympic Dam Expansion.

Park Engineers fabricated 315 tonnes of steel beams for the Finke River Bridge. All the steel used for the beams was XLERPLATE® steel, supplied by Australia's largest steel company, BlueScope Steel. "XLERPLATE® is good quality steel," says Paul Azzalini. "We used 300 grade XLERPLATE® for the beam webs, and 400 grade for the flanges, to enable increased bending moment strength."

"We've always had a good relationship with BlueScope Steel, and the fact that the steel is locally produced in Australia is also a plus. Using an overseas supplier would have compromised the time constraints we faced with this project," he adds. "It's extremely important for us to have a good supplier who can deliver when promised - as we carry the risk of any delays in payment of liquidated damages."

So successful has the use of BlueScope Steel's XLERPLATE® steel been on the Finke River Project, that Park Engineers are also using it on a project in WA, the upgrade of the Nanutarra Bridge.

Located 100km east of Onslow on the North West Coastal Highway, in WA, the Nanutarra Bridge spans the Ashburton River. The existing structure is the only single lane bridge left on the highway. The A$9 million bridge and roadworks project will expand the bridge to two lanes, resulting in a significant improvement to safety and transport efficiency. When completed, the upgrade will eliminate the need for speed and load restrictions, which have been in place since early 2003.

The new Nanutarra Bridge is 240 metres long, consisting of 10 spans ranging from 22 to 24.5 metres in length. Park Engineers were contracted by McMahon Contractors, who is constructing the bridge, to fabricate, supply, paint and deliver 50 steel bridge beams to be lifted into place on site.

The beams range from 18m to 26.5m in length, each section weighing 7.5 tonnes. BlueScope Steel is supplying 350 tonnes of 400 grade XLERPLATE® steel for the project. "The major challenge for this project was getting the XLERPLATE® before the plate mill closed for Christmas maintenance," explains Paul. "BlueScope Steel's WA representative was very helpful, she explained all the issues and went out of her way to ensure that the order was delivered in time. We've had nothing but polite, efficient, knowledgeable service from BlueScope Steel," he adds.

All beams will be supplied on site by 9 April 2004, and the Nanutarra bridge is expected to be complete by the beginning of September 2004.